The Hourglass Breaks
by foreverHenry919
Summary: This is the second story of mine inspired by a one-shot fic entitled, "Sand Through The Hourglass", by celeste58 and the opening quote is taken directly from it. /s/12037767/1/Sand-Through-The-Hourglass?fbclid IwAR3cP98mrBOIdLRX0IdiRMOFT0B3TnxZGyZ5f AGJ6JEkmRM8nyIMmVO5wU
1. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 1 Finding Adam

_"You let everyone find out about your secret, and risked being snatched up and experimented on, just to save my life?" Lucas asked, honestly awed by what his boss was willing to sacrifice for his sake. _

vvvv

While Lucas was being treated, Bellevue's ER waiting room played host to Jo and Abe, who sat in supportive silence on either side of an equally silent Henry on the upholstered backless and armless benches. Mike paced in the hallway updating Reece on the situation. Jo smiled at Henry and patted his hand before leaving her seat to join Mike once he'd ended the call. Henry and Abe returned her smile as they watched her leave.

"They say no news is good news," Abe said in an effort to assure his father and himself. "Kid's gonna be fine," he added, nodding.

Henry started to reply but Jo quickly returned with a serious expression on her face. "Sorry, Henry, we've got a lead on the speedboat that Adam tossed Lucas from." Both Henry and Abe stood up with worried looks on their faces as Jo continued.

"U. S. Coast Guard Sector NY found a boat matching witness descriptions, abandoned and adrift just out past the Statue of Liberty. PD's Harbor Unit are on their way over to it."

"Get this," Mike joined in, "A bunch of people aboard two tourboats swear they saw a guy either fall or jump into the water. Coast Guard's searching in that spot but ... " Mike's voice trailed off and he looked at Henry and shrugged.

Henry pondered what they'd just told him and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Henry, if he ... I mean ... do you know where he might resurface or ... does he do that at all?" Jo asked, blinking and shaking her head, uncertain how to word such a question even after all that they'd witnessed and all that Henry had told them.

"I've no idea where he would resurface," a frustrated Henry replied. "But, yes, it would be in water just as I do."

"You're sure of that?" Mike asked, just as uncertain about this line of questioning as his partner was.

"Unfortunately, yes," Henry replied, sighing and shifting his eyes back and forth. "Do you remember Aubrey Griffin?" The two detectives nodded and he continued. "He once showed me a journal that the Nazis had kept on the experiments of Josef Mengele. Can't really call him a doctor; he was simply a deranged butcher. But one patient in particular would die repeatedly and rejuvenate in a nearby river," he whispered. "That patient was Adam."

Both detectives grimaced and fought to digest the grossly unpleasant information. Mengele. The Angel of Death. Hacking up someone over and over just because the person couldn't permanently die.

Mike rubbed his forehead and then asked, "And you believe that patient was Adam?"

Henry raised his eyebrows and sighed before replying. "Adam told me that the Nazis had become aware of his condition while he was imprisoned in one of the camps, which led to Mengele having experimented on him. This was before I'd even met Griffin."

The two detectives exchanged a look, realizing that there was much, much more to Henry's story than he had already shared with them.

"Henry, I, I have to say this," Jo reluctantly told him, struggling to maintain eye contact with him. "Do not go far. You're aware that we may have to question you further," she added. It was more of a statement than a question. During the ride on the way over from the river to the hospital, he'd mentioned that he'd had to flee numerous times and go into hiding in order to avoid being harmed after his secret had been revealed. She wasn't sure if a squad room full of witnesses to his suicidal death and body's vanishing would spur him to run.

"Yes," he replied. "I understand." He did understand. But his first instinct, he had to admit, was to run. As far away as he could and outlive every one of them. However, he'd given his word and maybe with the help of the NYPD, Adam could finally be stopped from harming him or anyone else. And, he further had to admit, this time he didn't want to leave because of Abe ... and because of Jo.

Jo and Mike then left to go check on the abandoned speedboat for clues. They could question Lucas later after the doctor gave the okay. Henry and Abe sat back down, waiting for word from Lucas' doctor.

Less than five minutes later, Lucas' 50-year-old mother, Dora Wahl, and his older sister, Eugenia, arrived from New Jersey in a wide-eyed, breathless rush. When they saw Henry, they rushed up to him instead of to the receptionist.

"You're my son's boss," an anxious Dora stated. She and Eugenia, a shorter, bespectacled, softer near-image of Lucas, proceeded to bombard Henry with questions until he managed to calm them long enough to reply.

"So, someone that _you_ have a quarrel with kidnaps _my_ son, dumps him in the river to drown him!?" Dora asked, incredulous. "What kind of mess did you drag my boy into!?" she demanded as Eugenia placed her hand on her arm, trying to calm her again.

"Mom, he's the one who also saved Luke's life!" the young woman reminded her mother. "We should be grateful."

"Grateful?" Dora huffed. "If it wasn't for him, your brother wouldn't have needed to **be** rescued in the **first** place!" Dora broke away and stalked her 5'3" frame over to the receptionist, her single, mingly-gray braid swinging back and forth behind her back. She demanded with a shaky but determined voice to see her son immediately. While the receptionist scrambled to accommodate her, Eugenia shot an apologetic look at Henry and hurried to her mother's side.

"Sorry, Henry," Abe said, remembering to call his father by his given name while in public.

"No, Abraham," he began. "She has every right to be upset with me. Lucas is her son; her child. As a mother, she's willing to fight tooth and nail to keep him safe. As his friend, I should have warned him, all of them, about Adam. I sincerely hope he's all right."

Just minutes later, Lucas was moved from the ER into a regular room with his mother and sister virtually camping out there. With the help of a sympathetic Eugenia, Henry had managed to peek in on him later while Dora was asleep. Only after checking Lucas' chart and vital signs was Abe able to convince his father to return home and freshen up.

vvvv

"Henry said the boat was white in color with a dark outboard motor and a rectangular covering over the helm area," Jo told Mike as they drove to the Village Community Boathouse. "The one the Coast Guard located matches that description and was reported missing from Pier 40 at the Hudson River Park."

Mike shook his head, grinning. "Doc saw all that while in sheer panic from trying to locate and rescue Lucas and coming back to life after having shot his own brains out?" He shook his head and let out a nervous laugh, adding, "Amazing."

"Yeah, well, he said he sees a lot because he's ... seen a lot," Jo reminded him as she pulled up to the pier and parked.

They exited the car and were greeted by the Boathouse's manager, a lumberjack-looking Sam Toliver.

"Boat's called a Scout. It's a 22-footer, usually rented for fishing and seats up to five at $350 for three hours or $660 for a full day," he told them, as they stood at the boat's empty mooring spot. "The party who rented it paid cash for the day."

Mike held out his phone to Toliver to let him see a photo of Dr. Lewis Farber, aka Adam. "This the guy who rented the boat?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's him," Toliver replied. "He was dressed in sort of an oldfashioned way, though, mostly in black. Black, leather gloves, old-style trench coat, and flat-top cap. Not like someone going fishing or even partying."

The two detectives exchanged a look and Mike clicked his phone off and returned it to his pocket.

Toliver placed a fist on his hip while waving his free hand and asked, "That boat's one of my best money makers. When can I get it back?" They informed him the boat was being brought back to the NYPD Harbor Unit's mooring location and would not be available to him again until after the investigation was completed, to which he rolled his eyes in disgust.

vvvv

"Why, in this day and age of computers and online retail, would anyone accept a large, cash payment without getting a little suspicious or even a valid address from a customer?" Mike growled as they walked back to the car. "Especially using a name like Tyrion Lannister."

Jo chuckled dryly and said, "Apparently, Toliver isn't a fan of the 'Game of Thrones' show or at least he would have questioned that."

"Maybe he needed the cash to feed a habit or he was taking the payment under the table, ya know, to minimize his tax liability," Mike casually speculated.

"But at least we already know who really rented the boat and what he looks like. Just ... still don't know his real name or where he really lives," she added, shrugging.

Yeah," Mike said. "The home address on file at Bellevue for Farber is a tarot card reading store on East 33rd Street!"

"Poor Henry, dealing with this creep for so long all by himself," Jo said despairingly.

"Well, now he's got the NYPD to help him," Mike said as they drove off in Jo's car. "We'll find this Adam and put him away."

"What say we pay a visit to that tarot card place anyway? It'll give us something to do while waiting for Harbor Patrol to bring the boat in."

"Worth a shot," Mike said. "Maybe they can give me some lottery numbers to play. Some _winning_ numbers."

vvvv

_'__NYC trip would have great stops in Hoboken__,__ NJ__.__ Surf City is a great stop__,__ then Statue of Liberty__(drive by photo op)__,__ then stops in New York, Luis Clam Bar__ ... ' _

Lucas laughed, railing at himself for his own gullibility that had allowed him to walk right into Adam's trap. He'd received an official-looking award letter from McSorley's with free tickets for a speedboat ride on the Hudson. Even though he couldn't recall entering any contest at his favorite watering hole, and even though he hadn't been able to come up with a date for the second ticket, he'd gladly shown up at Pier 40 at the specified time and date to claim his prize.

_'Stupid!' _he berated himself again even though he realized that nothing looked suspicious to him when he found only Henry's former psychotherapist, Lewis Farber, on the boat. Farber, clothed in a discount-store version of Henry's expensively-tailored manner of dress, had informed him that he, too, was a winner, and produced the same mailing with the flyer and two tickets inside of it. The man had appeared friendly enough to Lucas and had told him - lied to him - that his wife would join them shortly, and that the pilot had temporarily stepped away. Once he'd boarded the boat and found a comfortable seat, Farber had suggested they treat themselves to a drink while waiting for the others to arrive.

_'Stupid!' _He berated himself yet again for having allowed Farber or Adam, as Henry called him, to serve both of them a drink. Whatever sedative the crazy man had put in his drink continued to wreak havoc in his system, causing him to suffer occasional waves of nausea and vertigo. Even when he closed his eyes, the room continued to spin. It felt like he was in one of those oversized, spinning teacups at Disneyland only this wasn't any fun.

He knew his mother was camping out in his room and his sister had been in and out. He also knew that Henry had been there, checking him and his chart the night before but he hadn't been able to open his eyes because of the dizziness and nausea and something the nurse had pumped into him for the pain from his bruised knees and elbows. Must have happened when Adam had had trouble dumping his long body overboard. He concluded that even if he'd been conscious, he might not have been able to swim very well to save himself from drowning. Luckily, his boss had known where to find him and had rescued him. Lucas knew that he would eventually recover but what of Henry? Would he be able to recover from having revealed his secret in order to save him? A feeling of guilt was growing stronger alongside the gratefulness he felt.

Lucas mulled over the fact that Abe was Henry's son. His elderly son, who may or may not have a lot of years left. He figured that both men may have worried about that from time to time. It was apparent that Abe had not only kept his father's secret for many years but that he'd provided a bastion of protection and friendship for him at the same time. In return, Lucas resolved to do whatever he could to maintain that level of support for the Immortal once Abe was no longer able to do so.

vvvv

Abe's Antiques ...

"Look at 'em down there," Abe grumbled to his father. They peered over the edge of the rooftop terrace at the crowd milling outside the shop below. When someone in the crowd noticed and pointed to them, the others looked up and began shouting at once. "Are they kidding? They want you to come down there?" He stepped back from the edge of the terrace, pulling his father back with him.

"Perhaps I should," Henry said.

"No! They just wanna drag you away somewhere and, and, and do God knows what to you!" Abe exclaimed. "Where are the cops?" he asked, exasperated. "Said they were on their way!"

"Maybe that's why I should go down there," Henry repeated. "Try to keep things calm until - " Both men broke out into wide grins at the sound of sirens growing ever louder and then cars skidding to sudden stops. "They're here," Henry said, patting his son on the arm.

"Great but ... you're not still planning to go to work, are you?" Abe asked.

"Why not? They're going to provide an escort for me. The Lieutenant promised," Henry replied as he walked toward the stairs. He and Abe stopped in their tracks when the wind suddenly whipped up on the terrace and the familiar whirr of helicopter blades came from up above. Both men knew that sound well from their respective stints in the military. They looked up to see a TV news helicopter from Channel 8, a figure leaning out of the side with a bullhorn.

"Dr. Morgan! Dr. Henry Morgan! Would you care to make a statement? People are very interested in your story!"

"Good Lord, this is all becoming a circus," Henry said, shaking his head and ducking quickly down the stairs with Abe close behind him.

Once they reached the safety of the second-floor living quarters, they paused to catch their breaths. Henry had been in this same position several times during his long life, surrounded by a mob. Sometimes he'd been lucky enough to get away before the mob could harm him. Sometimes he'd not been so lucky. But he had always been alone. This was different from scurrying out of town with Abigail and a younger Abe whenever he thought a suspicious someone was sniffing too closely around his door.

Now he feared that if a certain group of people were to get their hands on him, their determination to unlock the key to his curse would extend to potentially harming his son. He was a doctor, a healer; not a killer. But he was prepared to do whatever was necessary in order to protect his son.

They startled at the sound of breaking glass and realized that the mob must have broken in the door downstairs. Henry stepped in front of Abe, shielding him with his own body. Their hearts were in their throats. A booming, male voice was shouting their names.

"Henry Morgan! Abraham Morgan! Please show yourselves!"

"Dad, you can go," Abe whispered shakily to him. "You can get away. I'll be fine."

"No, Abraham!" Henry replied emphatically, mentally rejecting Abe's unspoken advice that he escape by committing suicide.

"Besides, they'll still have the river surrounded, looking for Adam. I'm sure the crowds there are bigger than the one here. What would happen to me if I suddenly pop up again there, naked?" He shook his head while Abe clutched his father's shoulders, leaning his forehead against his back and his eyes closed in frustration.

"Okay, okay, you're right," Abe said. He hated it that his father felt the need to act as a human shield for him against what they thought was an approaching mob. But this was also something that they had discussed more than once over their many years together. He tightened his clutch on his father's shoulders, feeling the smart of tears at the backs of his eyelids.

Footsteps were on the stairs now. "This is the NYPD! Henry Morgan! Abraham Morgan! Show yourselves, please! We are here to escort you to safety!"

Father and son, both speechless, blinked in pleasant surprise at the sight of an ESU team running up the stairs with assault weapons. One of them, the apparent leader, walked quickly over to them with an extended arm.

"I'm Sgt. Rod Donaldson, gentlemen. Lt. Reece sent us. If you'll come with us, we'll get you out of here. But first ... I need you guys to suit up."

They watched in awe as two of the ESU team members peeled off their uniforms and handed them to Donaldson, who passed them to Henry and Abe. Without a word, they donned the gear while their replacements, dressed in streetclothes similar to theirs, put on baseball caps and dark glasses.

"Decoys," Abe chortled. "Smart."

The father and son duo, both war veterans, clutched the assault weapons in the correct manner without any coaching from Donaldson, who appeared impressed. "Seen action?" he asked them.

"Army Rangers. Nam," Abe proudly replied.

"Royal Army Medical Corps," Henry stiltingly replied. He felt it best not to specify that his last service was in World War Two or that his first was in the 1790s during the Napoleonic Wars.

Donaldson nodded appreciatively and with a two-fingered salute, said, "Thank you for your service." Donaldson then mustered them in as part of the ESU team and led them down the stairs and out of the shop past the crowd of gawkers, appearing to provide security for the replacement Henry and Abe, who boarded a waiting van with four ESU team members.

Once inside a second van, Donaldson reached into his jacket pocket and produced a cell phone, handing it to Henry, who held it briefly as if it were a hot potato, then awkwardly passed it to Abe. Abe put it to his ear and grinned broadly. "Jo! Yeah, he's right here," Abe said. He passed the phone back to his father, who eagerly spoke into it.

"Jo? ... Oh, it's good to hear your voice ... Yes, we're, we're in the ESU van now. We should be arriving ... Not to work? ... Alright. See you then. And, and thank the Lieutenant for me, will you? ... Okay, bye." The phone beeped when the call ended and Henry tried to give it back to the Sergeant.

"Better keep that, Doctor," the African-American ESU leader advised him. "A present from the Lieutenant." He pulled off his helmet, revealing a cleanly-shaven head with a mustache and goatee gracing handsome, brown-skinned features. "Said she understands now why you refused to carry one. She also said to let you know that there are a lot more where that one came from."

Henry, overcome with gratitude, managed to smile and say, "Well, I'd ... better learn how to really use one, then." He studied the phone cradled in his hands and then looked smilingly at his son seated next to him.

"I'll help you learn how to use it, uh, Henry," Abe assured him, returning his smile. They looked over at the ESU leader and the other three team members in the van with them, wondering if they knew of their true relationship and that there might be no need to try to hide it.

Donaldson viewed the two men contemplatively and finally said, "Quite a thing you did, Dr. Morgan, saving that young man from drowning like that. Kick in the head that everything happened right in the same spot where you were, uh, swimming."

"Yes, ah, quite," Henry agreed with raised brows over a knowing smile. It was apparent to him and Abe that Donaldson was either not bringing up Henry's self-demise in the precinct in order to quickly get to Lucas in the river or he really didn't know about it. A gift from providence that he gladly accepted.

Although inside the well-insulated van, the whirr of helicopter blades was heard once again above them. Abe and Henry instinctively looked up, their eyes moving back and forth.

"Sounds like more than one," Abe said, squinting and listening harder.

"You're right, Abraham," Henry agreed.

Looking up, Donaldson told them, "The other helicopter has to be paparazzi." He looked at Henry and Abe and added, "Our guys will make sure that they follow the decoy van with the two fakes in it."

The sound of two helicopters was soon reduced to one and father and son breathed collective sighs of relief. But neither felt completely comfortable not knowing for sure if Donaldson and his men were knowledgeable about their true relationship and Henry's condition. Sensing their apprehension, Donaldson sought to assure them both.

"Don't worry, gentlemen," he told them. "We appreciate how much you've done to help the NYPD, Dr. Morgan. Rest assured that the department will utilize all of its resources to keep you both safe from harm. From anyone and everyone." He winked at them and added, "We take care of our own."

About 40 minutes later, the team traded the van for a helicopter and transported Henry and Abe on the last 30 minutes of their journey. They landed on the helipad of an immense, white, six-story building with a four-columned entrance under a large pediment. Henry recognized the building but didn't feel the need to let on just yet. He and Abe relinquished their weapons to one of Donaldson's men and they all descended the rooftop stairs to an elevator on the floor below. It took them to the bowels of the building and opened onto the first floor of a department-store sized labyrinth of rooms with three-foot-thick concrete walls. The intricate air-intake system — meant to filter out radiation — created a vacuum-like effect upon entering. The wind howled around them, sucking all the doors shut.

With merely the slightest flick of his hand for them to follow him, Donaldson wordlessly led them across the expansive, main room to yet another elevator. Once inside, the other three ESU members positioned themselves near the front of the door and one of them punched the down button. Donaldson stood behind them with Henry and Abe. Both men were so awed by everything that they hadn't taken the time to consider that they might be in danger. In danger of being held against their will. But they had to believe Donaldson, that he and his unit had been sent by Lt. Reece to spirit them to safety until things died down.

"In here, gentlemen," Donaldson finally spoke. He walked into a large room with multiple, metal-framed cots and Henry, Abe, and the others filed in behind him. "Not exactly the Hilton," he joked, "but surprisingly comfortable." He waved a hand at the cots and said, "Take your pick." He then walked over to a long counter with a brown, laminate top and a mirror above it as long as the counter. He retrieved a small booklet from the center drawer which he promptly gave to Abe because they assumed that he thought Abe was the elder of them. For that reason, they both relaxed a bit more, believing that Reece must have withheld their family secrets from the ESU team. It still brought on that old feeling of misplacement that made them want to explain the person's error to them all the while knowing it was best not to and that burying the truth was best for them.

"Everything you need to know about this place is in here, such as where all of the restrooms, eating areas, and dispensaries are. There's even a swimming pool, a library, and a movie theater," he told them while Abe flipped through the booklet.

Donaldson and his men began filing out but not before having them step out of the ESU uniforms and hand them to two of his men. He left them with the promise that the Lieutenant and his two detective colleagues would soon visit them.

Father and son found themselves alone in the large room with the gray-blanketed cots lined up dormitory style. Abe passed the booklet to Henry, who flipped through the pages after dropping onto one of the cots.

"I'm hungry," Abe said. He looked over the room with his fists on his hips, then at his father. "That granola bar and bottled water they gave us in the van did **not** hit the spot."

"I agree," Henry replied, sitting up. "It hit **a** spot but not _the_ spot." He turned to a page and stood up, reading it. "There is an actual eatery with real cooks just down the corridor." He closed the booklet and said, "Let's go check it out."

As they left the room in search of food that might hit the spot, Abe asked if there were any lingering doubts about them really being safe there.

"Let's ... try not to think that way, Abraham," Henry urged him. "As long as we're together - that's all that matters. And I fully expect the Lieutenant and the detectives to be here as soon as they can."

"Okay," Abe said slowly. "They come and ... what?"

"We map out a plan together," Henry replied as they approached what most certainly had to be the eatery. "One that will ensure our safety from here on."

The eatery was lain out more like a fancy steakhouse with dark wood furniture, white, linen tablecloths, brass chandeliers and wall sconces, and beautifully polished, hardwood floors. The walls were adorned with paintings of landscapes, historic landmarks, and what they believed were replicas of some Norman Rockwell paintings. They deduced the other "customers" to be either guests like themselves or employees of this special facility built in the 1950s to shelter members of the three branches of government in case of an atomic bomb attack. Since the early 1990s, though, parts of it hosted guided tours and other parts were used for data storage.

"And ensure that we'll be able to remain in New York and resume our lives here?" Abe pressed, his voice lowered.

"Of course, Abraham," he replied, forcing a smile. He didn't want to alarm his son. "Let's place our orders."

As tech-savvy as Abe was, both he and Henry eyed the table-mounted, bouncepad tablet next to the condiment tray on their table with more than a bit of uncertainty. Abe had heard of the devices popping up in restaurants but he had yet to use one. Undaunted, however, he dove in and tapped on the 5"x7" screen to place their meal orders. And after a reasonable wait, their meals were brought to their table making them feel, in that moment, that they were in any normal restaurant in New York.

"There were no prices on that little ordering screen," Henry told the white-shirted, black-skirted woman serving them.

"That's because everything's free," she replied with a smile. "I'll be back with your beverages."

"Cool," Abe said. He leaned over his plate of linguini with clam sauce and creamed spinach and happily pointed out, "That means we don't have to tip, either."

Henry smiled in response as he used his knife and fork to slice a very tender and perfectly cooked filet mignon.

In truth, neither man had ruled out the need for a possible run to parts unknown. And that it might be easier for Henry to accomplish than for Abe. But for now, they elected to put those thoughts aside and enjoy their meal.

vvvv

11th Precinct, Lt. Reece's office ...

The Lieutenant had just ended a call with Sgt. Donaldson, head of the ESU Team that had provided safe passage for Henry and Abe to the Greenbriar Hotel in West Virginia. She then focused her attention on Jo and Mike, who had listened in on the call over the speaker phone. They filled her in on what they had so far on Adam aka Lewis Farber and how he had apparently gotten to Lucas.

"Someone like that just wandering freely around, hurting others for the fun of it really makes me mad," Reece said. "What's worse, he's somehow gotten himself into a position of authority, of trust, in order to hide in plain sight."

Reece privately bemoaned the fact that several members of the precinct's unit had been referred to Farber from the beginning of her tenure there until she had ordered Henry to visit him at the end of 2014. She now questioned if Farber was a cover that Adam lived and operated under in order to earn a living or, God forbid, if Farber was a real person, a real psychotherapist he'd killed and whose identity he'd assumed.

"There was a Lewis Farber who'd worked at Bellevue in the 1970s as an ambulance driver," Jo told her. "But it could have just been someone with the same name."

"Photo IDs weren't issued back then?" Reece asked.

"Oh, they were," Mike replied, "but we didn't find one in either the hospital's employee database or in the DMV's."

"Based on the information we now have regarding the necessity for an Immortal to be a chameleon in order to survive in a constantly changing society," Reece pointed out, "we can't rule out that it could have still been Adam. Dig deeper on him," she told them just as her phone rang. She raised a hand to Jo and Mike to prevent them from leaving.

"Lt. Reece," she answered. After listening for a few moments and nodding her head slightly as she made some notes, she said, "Alright. Thank you." She hung up and stood up, tearing the page off of her small notepad and folded it, placing it in her pocket.

"That was Harbor Rescue," she told them as she left her desk and motioned them toward the door. "They got him."

The three of them left the Precinct in Jo's assigned vehicle.

"They packaged him for Bellevue," Reece informed them. "Apparently, he resurfaced on the Manhattan side of the East River but he was clipped by another speedboat just as he'd resurfaced."

"Sounds ... gross," Mike said, grimacing. "But befitting. He likely?"

"Would it matter?" Jo replied.

They all frowned, silently considering how problematic it would be if Harbor Patrol were to pluck a naked but uninjured Adam from the frigid waters again any time soon.

vvvv

"He's lucky," Adam's attending physician, Dr. LeRoy Waltham, told them. "Only scrapes and bruises from what could have been a more deadly outcome for him. We're keeping him overnight, though, for observation."

Reece and her two detectives all breathed a sigh of relief. "How soon can we speak with him?" Reece asked.

"You can go in now," the doctor replied. He told them where Adam was located and they exchanged goodbyes.

Once they found the small cubicle of a room where Adam was, they pushed the curtain back and entered, making sure that their badges were prominently displayed. He lay in a hospital bed in one corner with his eyes closed, arms at his sides with his left arm bandaged elbow to shoulder and an IV in his other arm. His eyes opened at the sound of Lt. Reece addressing him as Dr. Farber.

She held up her badge and said, "I'm Lt. Reece from the 11th Precinct, NYPD. These are my colleagues - "

"I know who you are," Adam replied, wearily. "Don't you know by now that I know who all of you are?"

"No pretense, then. What is it you want?" Reece asked, cursing him in her thoughts. "Is this one of those games Henry says you like to play?"

Adam chuckled softly and took in a deep breath before responding. "Henry told you about me and the fun he and I used to have," he added, chuckling again.

"This is all so funny to you," Reece began. "Toying with people, threatening them, harming them. Bet you get a big kick out of that." She tilted her head to the side and continued. "Makes me wonder if it's to compensate for something in your own life that's ... much smaller."

The look of amused smugness left Adam's face and flew onto Jo's and Mike's. Adam leveled his small, piercing eyes on her. "I have neither the desire nor the time to trade insults with you. Your precious Henry brought all this on himself by ignoring me, not believing me. He forced my hand!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"You mean by choosing to live his life as a sane person dealing with normal responsibilities instead of messing around with the likes of you?" she countered.

His laughter rumbled from his gut. "You actually sent him to me, remember? How does it feel to know that you were part of my little game?"

Reece leaned closer to him and whispered, "About the same way you're going to feel being part of my end game."

Her cryptic statement halted his laughter. He stared at her, narrowing his eyes. "Others have challenged me but no one has ever won."

"Oh, I don't know," Reece replied matter-of-factly. "Henry did a pretty good. He's a nice man with a good heart." She dropped her smile and leveled her own piercing stare at him. "But, uh, I'm not nearly so nice as he is. In fact, I'm a real bitch when it comes to protecting the public and especially those I care about." She straightened back up, maintaining her piercing stare. "So. Game On."

The three of them prepared to leave after a uni arrived to stand guard outside his room with explicit instructions to keep a sharp eye out on him and sharp objects away from him.

"Dr. Farber might try to do something foolish to harm himself," the Lieutenant told the uni. "Make sure that he stays nice and healthy."

The uni, Officer Patrick Muldoon, who had heard enough Car 54 jokes to fill a squad room, nodded, placed his hands on his belt on either side of his buckle and determinedly positioned himself just outside Adam's room. "Copy that," he told her.


	2. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 2 Agent OOHell

ESU Squad Leader Donaldson had left Henry and Abe earlier, promising that Lt. Reece and Detectives Martinez and Hanson would soon visit them. As they approached their temporary quarters from a lunch that had most definitely hit the spot, they were greeted by a white-haired man in his 60s wearing the Army uniform of a four-star general. He held the at-ease position of a soldier trained to spring into action in the blink of an eye, if necessary. As they drew near, he offered them a polite but professional smile and an outstretched hand.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," he greeted them. "I'm General Wilfred Austin. Welcome to the Green. I'm here to personally escort you to more suitable quarters."

They shook hands with him, thanked him, and went inside the room to gather up their few belongings before realizing that they had none. They then followed the General down the corridor in the opposite direction past the eatery they had just patronized.

"My apologies for not having been here to meet you when you first arrived, gentlemen. I was in a meeting being briefed on your situation and how best to handle it." He paused in front of a closed doorway and opened it.

Henry and Abe entered the room that looked more like a regular but upscale hotel room with two kingsize beds and a loveseat across from a flatscreen TV. In one corner of the room were two upholstered chairs and a small, round table with a bowl of real fruit on it.

"Your friends - Lt. Reece and Detectives Martinez and Hanson - had planned to arrive this evening for all of us to meet early tomorrow morning in my office," he informed them. "But there's been a change in plans because of the fluidity of their investigation into the man who tried to drown your assistant. Lt. Reece does want you know that he is in custody, though."

"Well. That's good news," Henry replied, fighting to hide his disappointment over the cancelled meeting tomorrow. He had been looking forward to seeing Jo.

Austin produced a business card from his inside pocket and handed it to Abe. "This is how I can be reached. Please do not hesitate to call me if you need anything. The three men bid each other goodbye and the General left their room.

"Small patio," Abe observed, frowning.

"At least there is one," Henry pointed out as he slid the sliding glass door open and stepped outside onto the small area.

"Yeah, real House Beautiful," Abe remarked sarcastically but joined his father on there anyway.

"I know you were looking forward to the visit tomorrow," Abe told his father.

"Yes," Henry replied. "Always good to see my colleagues."

"I'm talking about Jo, Dad," Abe said tiredly. "Stop pushing her away. You don't need to do that anymore, she knows!"

"Abe. I'm not ... " Henry paused, sighing. "This is not the time for me to consider pursuing a relationship with Jo."

"And why not?" a scowling Abe demanded, his hands on his hips.

"There are too many things going on right now," Henry replied, feeling cornered and wearied by yet another conversation like this with his son. Walking quickly back into the room, his tone pitched higher. "And just because she knows doesn't mean that she and I can go skipping down the lollipop lane hand in hand and live happily ever after!"

"She didn't run out on you, did she?" Abe asked.

"Not yet," Henry tersely pointed out.

"You used her weapon to blow your brains out," Abe reminded him. "Do you know how much paperwork is involved when a police officer's weapon is fired? Not to mention IA possibly getting involved."

"Yes, I do, but how do you know that?" Henry returned.

"From watching crime shows," Abe replied. Henry released a mirthless laugh. "Oh, you laugh, but I'm willing to bet that she's gonna fudge that report in order to protect you. She's done it a few times before she knew about your condition," Abe reminded him. "The girl has feelings for you and you shouldn't keep denying yours for her!"

Henry recalled with silent gratitude the time that she had willingly omitted Abe's presence during a warehouse break-in from her police report during the Rick Rasmussen murder case. And before that, when she'd overlooked Abe having 'borrowed' a sales ledger from a fellow antiques dealer that had led them to copycat serial killer, Scott Bentley. Not to mention the times she'd failed to disclose to her boss, Lt. Reece, that Henry had stepped in front of a bullet or a car for fear that it would result in him being forbidden to participate in any subsequent investigations.

"Even if what you say is true, Abraham, how do you think she'll feel about me once everything sinks in? Once she really finds out how it was for Abigail as she'd aged and I had not. Once she realizes what her life would be like with an unaging enigma such as me!"

"Henry!" Abe exclaimed in frustration to stop his father from uttering another self-pitying word. He grabbed his father's upper arms and looked him in the eyes. "Every couple endures good and bad times. What makes it bearable is that they endure them together. So your baggage has a little more weight and durability than that of others. Believe me, that doesn't matter to Jo. Don't keep her away from you this time, Dad. Let her in."

vvvv

General Austin's office, the next morning ...

Henry and Abe walked into Austin's office where they were greeted by one of his aides, Captain Ness. She directed them toward an open door that led to a conference room. They seated themselves at the conference table across from Austin.

"That'll be all, Captain," Austin told her. "Let me know as soon as the call comes in." She left, closing the door behind her.

Austin reiterated what he'd said to them the night before, that Lt. Reece and their two detective friends would not be present that morning. "The Lieutenant will be participating in a conference call with us, though."

The multi-line phone on the conference table rang and he answered it.

"Put her through," he instructed his aide before punching the speakerphone button. "Go ahead, Lieutenant. You're on speaker."

Lt. Reece, on the other end, thanked him, greeted Henry and Abe, and told them that Lucas' doctor was releasing him from the hospital that same day.

"Ohhh, great," Abe said and Henry echoed his sentiments.

("As you should know by now, the man who kidnapped and tried to drown him has been taken into custody," Reece said.)

Adam in custody and Lucas well enough to leave the hospital. It was welcome news to Henry and Abe.

"From what I hear, Doctor," the General began, "the young man owes his life to you. How fortunate for him that you were able to recover him from the river in the same spot where you were ... recreating."

Neither Henry nor Abe could believe their ears. The General knew nothing about Henry's self-demise in the 11th Precinct's bullpen meaning he knew nothing about his condition? That like Donaldson and his men, the General merely thought him to be a hero besieged by mobs? Both he and Abe managed to remain calm from years of practice.

Henry cleared his throat, leaning toward the phone's speaker. "Might I ask, Lieutenant, where is Dr. Farber now?"

("Bellevue," she replied. "Harbor Patrol took him there after they'd recovered him from the Hudson. I will personally oversee Farber's transfer of custody from Bellevue to a cell at Ryker's. He's on a 24-hour Suicide Watch.")

Henry and Abe eyed each other uncertainly, knowing full well that if they blinked, Adam would use that miniscule lapse in security to free himself by death. The thought had crossed Henry's mind from time to time to look into an arrest record for Adam under Farber's name. He wished now that he had. Perhaps it would have helped him to get a step ahead of the troubling Immortal and avoid any injury to Lucas or even their confrontation in the subway.

"I'm assuming, Lieutenant, that you're aware that the FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover's direction, had begun keeping track of him in the 1930s," Austin said. "According to reports from that time, he'd traveled to Poland in 1937 and dropped out of sight two years later. It was speculated at the time, that he was caught up in the Nazi invasion of 1939 winding up in one of the camps."

"When the camps were liberated," Austin continued, "he wasn't found in any of 'em, so he was presumed dead. A few years after the war, though, he popped up in a small town outside of New York. Guess he'd managed to escape - which is a miracle - because the Nazis didn't release people from those camps. Alive, anyway," Austin solemnly added.

"You said that he popped up in a small town outside of New York," Henry cautiously asked. "Do you recall the name of the town?"

"Tarrytown. He's been known to visit there quite a bit," Austin replied. "No permanent address found for him there; just one in New York City that's probably bogus."

"Why do you say that?" Abe asked.

("It's a tarot card reading store on East 33rd," Reece replied for Austin, causing him to set his mouth and raise his eyebrows as if impressed by her knowledge. "Mike and Jo are going to check that place out.")

"We sent people there to get readings, you know, undercover, but he was never there," Austin continued. "He definitely knows how to stay under the radar," the General tiredly admitted. "But as long as he hadn't posed any threat to anyone, he was just ... an interesting anomaly that provided a much-needed distraction to new recruits or those wishing to hone their people tracking skills."

"An interesting anomaly? A distraction?" Henry repeated, unable to contain his incredulity at the off-handed manner in which the General and government authorities apparently regarded Adam. "He's a murderer!"

Austin was silent for a few moments as he studied Henry. "That's your opinion," he finally said.

"My - ?" Henry couldn't believe his ears. "To the best of my firsthand knowledge, he is a murderer. And while we're discussing him, you and I both know that Farber is not his real name. He's not a normal human being!" Neither was he but that was beside the point.

"Didn't say he was," Austin told him. "He is a pretty remarkable being, though, but no threat to national security. That's why after decades of monitoring him, the Secret Service handed responsibility for that over to the FBI in the 1930s."

"You mean ... the federal government has known about him since the 1860s?" Henry asked, frowning in amazement. He knew the service had its origins in the mid 1860s.

"Not exactly," Austin replied. "Unconfirmed reports of a man fitting his description who seemed to meet his end from time to time but apparently not his maker, surfaced in the 1880s around the time of the Ripper murders in London. In an effort to try to help Scotland Yard nab the culprit, our government began taking those unconfirmed reports a little more seriously. We had to find out not only if they were true but who this individual actually was and ... _what_ he actually was."

("Were they able to uncover that information on him?" Reece asked. "We at the NYPD only know that he's here now and apparently has been for at least a couple of years. It would have been nice if earlier information about him had been shared with us.")

Henry pressed his lips together and lowered his head, shaking it. "I apologize for that, Lieutenant."

("I'm not talking about you, Henry. Murders happen everyday in New York. Who's to say that this ... man the government has been monitoring for over a century is not responsible for some of them?")

Henry lowered his eyes and his head to mask his guilt for he knew that in 2014, Adam had confessed to the torture and murder of Xander de Soto and was most likely responsible for the torture and murder of Julian Glasser, also in 2014. But had Adam or Clarke Walker murdered the cab driver, Raj Patel? He wasn't sure which. But he was sure that Adam had used his stolen butcher knife to autopsy a live Richard Smight to death. He had kept quiet about his suspicions that Adam or one of his pawns were behind those atrocities. At the time, he simply didn't know how to tell anyone without sounding insane.

"He, like our other operatives, received some ... directives from us," Austin admitted, unable to maintain eye contact with either Henry or Abe. "I wouldn't classify what he did as murder. Although it appears that he has been rather ... creative ... while executing some of those directives."

"Creative?" Henry scoffed, frowning at Austin. "He may have gotten someone else to steal my hunting knife from my office in the OCME but he, himself was most likely the one to have used it to autopsy a man named Richard Smight in 2014. While he was still alive! Is that the type of creative expression this government expects from its operatives?"

("Dr. Morgan - ")

"No, no, no, it's alright, Lieutenant," Austin told her. "Let him talk."

Henry sighed, moving his eyes slowly from Austin, to the speakerphone, and back to Austin. "Were you aware that your so-called operative used my hunting knife in that particular murder in an effort to frame me for it?"

Austin nodded. "You needn't have worried, though, Doctor. We wouldn't have allowed it to come to that."

"You wouldn't have allowed - " He abruptly paused, washing his hand down over his face. "But you allowed him to roam free, having full knowledge of what he was and is capable of!?"

"He wasn't always that way," Austin replied. "At least, not from any of the reports I've seen dated prior to ... prior to 1985, when he learned about you and became obsessed with finding you." Austin paused, setting his jaw tightly, and eyeing Henry. "Very sorry about your wife, Abigail. We, uh, just didn't see that coming."

Ignoring and even rejecting Austin's apology, Henry said, "What you're saying is that this man, this grossly unbalanced man was given a license to kill?!"

It was hard to do but Austin maintained direct eye contact with the two men sitting across from him this time. After all, their Immortal operative was responsible in great part for the death of Henry's wife and Abe's mother. For that, and the other trouble they'd suffered at the hands of their operative, he was genuinely sorry; even if he was failing to convey that to them.

"His clearance didn't exactly rise to that level of security, Doctor," he replied. "More like ... a mechanic."

"A hit man," Abe gruffed out.

"But whatever security clearance or ... license to act has been granted him in the past has now been officially revoked. He's no longer afforded the protection of the United States government," Austin said. "When he began his search for you in 1985, communication with him became haphazard at best. However, when he finally found you a few years ago, we thought that that might cool him down a bit. It didn't. In fact, it only seemed to make matters worse. We fell out of communication with him and ... "

"It became more difficult to track him," Henry finished for him. "And to keep others safe from him."

"We failed," Austin admitted. "But we won't this time. He's in custody now and we do have our ways of controlling him."

("As do we," Reece stated. She next spoke directly to Henry and Abe. "You two have been through a lot. The NYPD extends its sincerest apologies for not having provided better protection for you in the past. But rest assured that we are here for you now and will always be here for you in the future. I'm asking you to have a little more patience while we wrap up this case so that you two can resume your lives here in New York - with your friends where you belong.")

Both men smiled and thanked her in unison. She ended the call, stating that Mike and Jo were reporting in on the other line. Austin then stood up, indicating that the meeting was over. Henry and Abe left the room with Austin not far behind them.

"In spite of everything you've learned this morning, gentlemen," Austin began, "I hope you know that you have nothing to worry about for the duration of your stay here." They turned to face him and he could see their uncertainty and mistrust.

"I won't offer any apologies for the manner in which the government chooses to handle its affairs," he told them as he walked behind his desk and sat down. "No matter how much people disagree, it works. And it has worked for more than two centuries."

Henry walked up to his desk and asked, "What information do you have on me?"

Austin sat forward in his chair and replied, "Well, besides being an exemplary medical professional and crime solver, a good man with a good heart." He eyed Abe over Henry's shoulder. "Devoted to family; dedicated to your job; loyal to friends." He moved his gaze back to Henry. "Just the type of operative we'd welcome as a replacement for the one we've just lost."

"Utterly ridiculous!" Henry said and began walking out of the office.

Austin stood up from his chair and added, "You'd have the full protection and backing of the United States government which means you'd never have to worry about your, uh, 'cover' being blown. Because 'exposure always looms', doesn't it, Doctor?"

Henry recalled having said those very words in the antiques shop to then murder suspect and computer hacktivist, Liz Chamberlain. He had tried to explain to her the near futility of him giving her a false death certificate so she could begin a new life. He whirled around to face Austin again, his face dark with anger.

"You bugged my home! Invaded our privacy!" He hurled the accusations at Austin, who visibly flinched from them.

"We had to be sure about you, that you were no threat, either," Austin explained. "We make no apologies for that."

An angry Abe now stood next to his father. "So all that time ... you guys knew what was happening and you stood by and did nothing."

"We had to see how things played out," Austin told him.

"You mean you had to see if this guy," Abe said, pointing to his father, "would have offed that guy. As much of a game player as Adam is." He leaned on his knuckles against the top of the desk. "What, you guys take bets on who would off who? Bet you cleaned up," he said accusingly.

"Abraham, let's just go back to our room," Henry said, patting his arm and pulling him away.

"Might want to think about it, Doctor," Austin called to their retreating forms.

Henry stopped and looked over his shoulder back at Austin. "Become one of your so-called operatives, a paid hit man at the government's beck and call? No, thank you. I'll take my chances on my own."

He and Abe left the office and Captain Ness stepped in, closing the door, then facing Austin. "Any orders, Sir?" she asked.

"Not yet," he replied, sitting back down in his chair. "We've got time, though. And time is something that Dr. Henry Morgan has lots and lots of, it seems."

Captain Ness frowned slightly, confused. But she smoothed her features out and left the office when Austin dismissed her.

Notes:

Information on U.S. Secret Service found at

wiki/United_States_Secret_Service#History

Slight references to Forever TV shows including S01/E06 "The Frustrating Thing about Psychopaths"; S01/E11 "Skinny Dipper"; S01/E14 "Hitler on the Half Shell"; S01/E18 "Dead Men Tell Long Tales"; partial quote 'exposure always looms' from S01/E17 "Social Engineering"; and S01/E22 "The Last Death of Henry Morgan".


	3. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 3 Oded & Liz

_"It's a tarot card reading store on East 33rd," Reece said. "Mike and Jo are going to check that place out."_

vvvv

Jo and Mike stood in front of the store with the address - most likely bogus - on file at Bellevue as the home of Adam/Farber. The gaudy red and black neon sign intermittently flashed a large, open eye inside a triangle with the words 'Psychic' and 'Tarot Readings' underneath it, at passersby in an attempt to lure them inside and part them from their money.

"Ten dollars a pop for a reading," Mike cynically noted, readjusting his belt. "When I was a kid they only cost fifty cents."

"Inflation," Jo dryly remarked. "Plus they have to compete with the online psychics now."

"Long as they can give me some winning lotto numbers," he jokingly repeated.

They entered the small, darkened cubby-hole of a storefront and were greeted by a young woman in jeans and a T-shirt with black eyes and long, black hair who appeared to be barely out of her teens. She wore a small, triangular, black head scarf dotted with red, yellow, and green half moons. The detectives had half-expected a much older woman with withered skin wearing large, hooped earrings and maybe a necklace of animal teeth.

"Welcome," the young woman mechanically greeted them. "I am Zandora." She motioned for them to take a seat in the two chairs opposite her on the other side of the small round table.

"Ahhh, a couple," she dispassionately continued. "You are here for a reading about your upcoming nuptials?" As a seeming afterthought, she flashed them a smile.

Both of them found the erroneous assumption a bit hilarious. Just a bit.

"No," Jo replied. "We're not - " she said before being cut off by Zandora.

"If it's for more bedroom harmony, as we call it," Zandora told her, "marriage counselors and sex therapists are on the third floor." She thrust a business card at them, which they ignored.

Obviously annoyed, Jo flashed her badge. "Det. Jo Martinez NYPD. This is my partner, Det. Mike Hanson."

Zandora deflated, rolled her eyes and flopped down into the chair on the other side of the small round table with a crystal ball in the center of it.

Jo pulled a 3" x 5" photo from her pocket and held it up for Zandora to see. "We're here to ask questions about this guy. Have you ever seen him?" she asked.

"Uh, no. I've never seen him before," the girl replied.

"Is there anyone else here with you?" Jo asked her.

"Aunt Zora!" a now agitated Zandora yelled. "I'm just filling in for my aunt," she quickly told them, snatching the scarf of half moons off of her head. "And I'm a minor. Aunt Zor-raa-aaa!"

A short, pudgy woman in her late 50s with closely-cropped white hair scurried into the room, bursting through the curtain of door beads.

"What is it, little one?" she asked her, ignoring Jo and Mike. "Have these terrible people harmed you?"

"Not yet," Zandora grumpily replied. "These 'terrible people' are cops!"

The woman, apparently Aunt Zora, stiffened, the concern on her face replaced by what looked like astonishment. "Why are you here?" she asked Mike, still ignoring Jo.

Mike, slightly confused, replied that they were there on official police business and to leave the questions to them. He then hurried over to the doorway, lifting the curtain of beads aside with one arm, his weapon in his other hand. He peered down the short, poorly lit hallway and saw a smaller room beyond that.

"Anybody else here?" he asked the older woman. She shook her head. "Pardon me if I'm a skeptic," Mike dryly replied. He then looked at Jo, who now held her own weapon but pointed at the floor.

"I got this," she told him. "Go check it out."

He disappeared into the hallway. "Det. Mike Hanson NYPD!" Mike shouted. "Anyone else here, show yourself!" Mike moved down the hallway, weapon in hand, and into the back rooms repeating the order.

Jo positioned herself between the women and the front entrance, occasionally glancing at the curtain of beads swaying in Mike's wake. After a few moments, he returned, his weapon lowered.

"No one else here," he told Jo.

Zora eyed Mike as he reentered the room and stood by Jo. "Why are you here?" she asked him again.

"Look, Zora, or whatever your real name is - " he replied before being cut off by her.

"That is my real name. Zora Antonescu."

"Mine's Theodosia," the younger woman told them. "I prefer Zandora - more exotic sounding," she haughtily added.

"And to answer why we are here," Jo said, emphasizing the 'we' for Zora since she appeared to be ignoring her presence, "we're here to find out if you've ever seen this man." She showed the photo of Adam/Farber to Zora.

Zandora eyed the photo glumly because the NYPD's search for this man had brought their business day to a screeching halt. That meant she'd ditched school for nothing. But she glanced questioningly at her aunt.

Zora paled as her eyes widened while she studied the photo. Her mouth worked silently and then her jaw became tightly set. She then shifted her gaze to Mike to her left.

"He always told us that you would never come. Not in our lifetimes, anyway," her trembling voice whispered. "That we had to do his bidding; provide a cover for him."

"Like letting him use this location to report as his home address?" Jo asked. Zora nodded. "He threatened to harm you if you didn't?"

"Minte creață," Zora said, biting her lower lip and lowering her eyes.

"English, Aunt Zora," Zandora prodded her. She looked apologetically at Jo and Mike and translated for them. "She said 'he has a curly mind', um, that he's - "

"Crazy," Jo and Mike both supplied for her.

"He threatened you?" Zandora asked her aunt. "Why didn't you report him to the police back then?"

"He threatened to make you disappear, little one," Zora confessed. "Just as he made your parents disappear five years ago."

She went on to tell them how Adam had shown up five years earlier and invaded her life and the lives of her son and daughter-in-law. At first, her son, Zandora's father, resisted, demanding that the strange man named Oded leave them alone or he'd report him to the police.

"He laughed at him, that hollow laugh of his," Zora recounted to them. "It made my son, Emilien, angry and Oded only laughed more. Emilien demanded he leave and pulled a gun on him when Oded pulled out a knife. _'Allow me', _he said, still laughing. And he slit his own throat!"

Zora clamped her hands over her mouth and sobbed at the memory while Zandora jumped up from her seat and held her aunt in a tight embrace. They traded positions and Zora, now seated, struggled to compose herself. She gladly accepted the cup of water from Jo and took a few sips and struggled to continue.

"That wasn't the worst of it," she said. "But ... you won't believe me when I tell you what happened next."

Jo and Mike exchanged a knowing look and in unison said, "Try us."

vvvv

"Oded," Lt. Reece repeated. "It's Hebrew for 'restore'." Aware that her two detectives were surprised and curious to know how she knew that, she clarified by saying she watched a lot of History Channel, too. But she smirked at the irony of the meaning of Adam's purported true name as she walked from the Interview Room back to her office with them, one on either side of her. They entered her office and shut the door, each of them finding a seat.

"I know it sounds crazy what they were saying," Jo began before being interrupted by Mike.

"Damn straight!" he agitatedly concurred, then quickly murmured an apology for his unseemly outburst. "I'm some kind of, of, warrior, sent to rescue them!"

Reece and Jo pursed their lips and raised their eyebrows opting to allow him to rant.

"Look, I know what you two are thinkin'," he said. "But just because something unbelievable is goin' on with the Doc doesn't mean that all of a sudden I'm some kind of ancient warrior sent to save everyone from this guy," he declared, paraphrasing Zora's words.

"She actually said that you were one of many descended from a Roman soldier named Aetius," Jo quietly and cautiously corrected him. "His descendants are the only ones who can permanently kill people made Immortal by him. Adam is one of those Immortals, you are one of Aetius' descendants."

"Yeah, like she knows," Mike said, shaking his head in disbelief. "All we have to go on is what that psycho told her. Why should we believe any of this?" he asked, frustratedly.

"Well, if it's facts you need," Jo began, "then we know that Zora accused him of having threatened her and her family five years ago, keeping them fearful of him all that time. Zora also believes that he's responsible for the sudden disappearance of her son and daughter-in-law. And most likely, he falsified at least some of his information in order to obtain employment and maybe entry into the country."

"He's also stalked Dr. Morgan and committed more than one murder in my town on my watch," Reece added. "And, according to General Austin, the federal government has known of him and his unglorious activities for more than two centuries!"

"Ever stop to think that Ms. Zora is crazy?" he replied. He looked at Jo then at their boss. Pointing to himself, he raised his voice and declared, "I am not a sleeping warrior. I'm just a man. A cop! There's nothin' more I'd like to do than to permanently put Farber out of commission. The normal way," he emphasized. "This other stuff - ?" His voice trailed off as he shook his head. "Not buyin' it."

"Well, we proceed based on the facts we've gathered, then," Reece proposed. "Later, there might be a way to find out if there's more to you than meets the eye," she added. She sat forward at her desk, clasping her hands and sighed. "We're all in agreement that this psycho must be dealt with and soon." Jo and Mike both nodded.

"But we have to keep as much as we can about our investigation under wraps. You guys like meatloaf?" she asked. Surprised but confused, they both replied in the affirmative.

"Good," Reece replied. "My house 7:30 tonight."

"Lieu, uh, I appreciate the invite but - " Mike said before she cut him off.

"We have a lot to discuss, as I said. Including the phone conference I had with General Austin, Dr. Morgan and ... his roommate, Abe."

They both nodded, understanding why in this venue, she purposely referred to Abe as Henry's roommate instead of his son. Keep as much of their investigation under wraps. They rose from their chairs and left her office.

vvvv

Bedroom of Mike and Karen Hanson later on that evening ...

"Aetius. Derived from Greek αετος (aetos) 'eagle'. A famous bearer of the name was the 5th-century Roman general Flavius Aetius, who defeated Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons." Karen, an ancient history enthusiast, was visibly impressed as she sat on the bed with a large book on her lap. She lowered it to watch her husband finish dressing after he'd showered.

"Why'd you want to know about him?" she asked.

Mike paused while dressing and hesitantly replied, "Oh. Just something to do with a case."

"Some case," she noted. "And tell me again why I am not invited to this gourmet meatloaf dinner at the Lieutenant's home?" she playfully asked. "Will some beautiful police women be there, too?"

"Yeah," he sarcastically replied as he looked in the mirror to finish tying his tie. "The Lieutenant, who belongs to her husband and Jo, who belongs to Henry and vice versa - whether either of them admits it or not."

Satisfied with his appearance but both apprehensive and curious about his 7:30 dinner appointment, he turned around to face is wife. He spread his arms to wordlessly seek her approval. She placed the book on the bed and quickly walked over to peck him on the lips, lingering in front of him with her arms around his neck.

"Hot," she whispered to him through a smile. "You'll be the life of the party."

"Not that kind of party, honey," he grumbled wearily. When Karen's smile faltered and she eyed him worriedly, he realized his mistake in responding that way. With a forced smile, he attempted to alleviate her worries when he jokingly added, "When your boss is the one dishin' out the gruel and orderin' ya to be there or else - it's hardly a party."

It brought back Karen's smile and she kissed him again. "Have a nice time, anyway, sweetie."

Mike left the house and climbed into his car, wondering why he'd even spilled that much to his wife about his so-called ancient, knife-wielding ancestor. That thought caused him to stop in his tracks and shake his head as if to shake it out of his mind. His ancestor?! No! He wasn't believing any of that crap the old lady laid on him, he adamantly told himself.

But he hated lying to his wife. Keeping some of the more unpleasant aspects of his job from her was fine, even recommended by the department. It was for her own good not to have visions of bloodied corpses and crime scenes in her head. But lying left a bad taste in his mouth and didn't set well in his stomach, effectively robbing him of his appetite. Then it suddenly struck him that Henry had had to do the same thing for a much longer time than he had. A couple of centuries. Hiding, bending the truth, out and out lying in order to keep his secret and himself safe from others who wouldn't understand or be accepting of it.

And what if it was true? Was he really a sleeping warrior, as Zora had declared? One of a few living beings who could permanently kill the Immortal Oded aka Adam aka Farber. He pondered if he or these other sleeping warriors could also permanently kill Henry. Mike shook his head vigorously again and started up the car. As he drove off, he pushed these and other troubling, fantastical thoughts out of his mind. It was the Doc who had the unbelievable wedged into his life, not him. Not him.

vvvv

Despite his misgivings about the evening, the meatloaf dinner was one of the tastiest Mike had had in years. Reece refused to share the special blend of seasonings with them, though. They chuckled when Jo threatened to take some home and have it tested in the lab later on. They drank coffee at the end of the meal but remained at the dining room table in the comfortably upholstered chairs and Reece shared the details of the conference call earlier that day. The meal wound up being a pleasant interlude before they got down to the real meat of the reason for their gathering.

"Are ... are they ... safe there?" Jo asked, not wanting to give in to her fear for the two men who had become very special to her. Especially Henry even though she had never revealed her growing feelings to him.

"Yeah, Lieu. Can this General Austin be trusted not to whisk them off somewhere where no one can find them?" Mike asked, just as concerned. He didn't want to show how much, though, because he didn't want to spook Jo any more than she already was.

"I have to believe that they'll be fine," Reece replied. "I simply wanted to share the details of our conversation with you. It's important that we each know all the facts in order to help keep them safe and see that they get back to their lives here in New York as soon as possible. Although, I have to admit, it irks me no end that Austin had their home bugged and that he and his crew knew all this time about Adam." She scoffed and added, "I don't care what his real name is. He's dangerous and has to be taken care of."

"How about layin' him out again like the Doc did?" Mike smirked.

"No," she quickly replied. "He's got to be taken offline permanently. That's where you come in, Mike. To tell you the truth, I did have something else in mind but this business of you being - "

"Bad. Idea." Mike said, leaning back and swiping a hand through the air. "There's nothing to what that Zora woman said about me!"

"Why is it that you believe what Henry told you about himself and Adam but you doubt what Adam told Zora and her niece about you?" Jo asked.

"Because!" he shouted. "Because we ... we all saw what Henry did to himself, blowin' his brains out like that. Dyin' and comin' back to life in the river. There is no proof - and how in the hell would this Adam or Oded or whatever know anything about me at all? I thought he was obsessed with the Doc for the past 30 years?"

"He doesn't know about you specifically," Reece pointed out. "Apparently, he's picked up a whole lot more information over the past 2,000 years than Henry has in just his 200 years of Immortality. You being one of a few who could permanently kill him? Over the centuries, he had to have done his own research and found out many things that Henry still has not. And no matter how fantastical it sounds - you being a sleeping warrior - I wouldn't rule it out, Mike."

Mike, visibly perturbed, just sighed and pulled his lips in, supporting his head in his hand.

Jo, concerned for her official partner, still wanted a burning question answered. "Lieu, um, what do we do about all of the others who saw Henry kill himself with my gun?"

Reece lowered her head slightly and was silent for a few moments. Finally, she asked, "What do you recall seeing, Jo?"

Jo looked at Mike and then back at Reece. "I ... saw Henry ... " She paused, not wanting to say the words. " ... shoot himself with my weapon and ... his body and, and everything vanished." She stared directly at Reece. "There were at least ten other people in that squad room who also saw."

"Were there? Did they see what you saw?" Reece asked. "Surveillance cameras don't show that," Reece replied.

Both detectives protested that they must have but Reece insisted.

"Trust me. The footage does not support your beliefs. As a matter of fact, Dr. Morgan is not even visible in any of the footage," she stated.

"But he was there, Lieu," Jo protested further. "He was trying to negotiate with Adam on the phone, remember? How do we explain that?"

"And then he was across town in the river saving Lucas from drowning," Mike added.

"Was that him?" Reece cryptically asked. "Or was it someone who merely looked like him?" A smile crept across her lips and an eyebrow raised as she studied them.

"Lieu, what are you saying?" Mike asked, leaning forward, suddenly encouraged about the whole situation. "No footage to back up nearly a dozen eyewitnesses - "

"And someone who only resembled Henry pulling Lucas out of the river - " Jo added.

"What about the gunshot?" Mike asked, playing Devil's advocate.

"What about it?" Reece replied with her own question. "No gunshot is heard on the surveillance footage. And no flashes of light," she added, anticipating their next question.

Even though she decided she was going to share a little more with them, she definitely would not tell them anything about how she'd contacted Liz Chamberlain to do her own bit of magic and alter the surveillance footage. Liz, eternally grateful to Henry for having saved her life, had made the changes to his online files as a favor to him several months ago. This time she'd changed the surveillance footage concerning Henry and, as before, had done so without questioning why. One more confidante taken into the fold.

"It's all taken care of, Detectives," Reece assured them. "Internal Affairs has nothing to back up what a few of the others present at that time had to say. Many weren't willing to say anything about it since there is no physical evidence and ... who would believe them, anyway?" She paused, unclasping her hands and smoothing an area of the tablecloth near her plate.

"Well, that's a, uh, lucky break," Mike haltingly said.

"Yes, but my gun discharged," Jo pressed. "What do I put in my report about that?"

"We don't have a bullet," Reece quickly pointed out. "I'm sure we all know why that is," she said in a lowered voice. "You can come up with something," Reece assured Jo. "Same as you did before whenever you omitted certain things from your reports about Dr. Morgan and/or his son."

Mike frowned at a surprised Jo and Reece chuckled.

"I told you before, I know everything that goes on in my precinct," she quickly added. Even though General Austin's revelations that morning had made her realize that she needed to cast her net a little wider in order to gather the information necessary to keep that statement a true statement.

"Which means that IA most likely won't be contacting you anytime soon, if at all," Reece reasoned. "It's all taken care of, Detectives. Now. Who wants desert?"

Notes:

Romanian female given names

/blog/gypsy-baby-names-real-romani-names

Romanian surnames

names/usage/romanian

Ancient Roman names

names/usage/ancient-roman

Romanian male names

/life/24-funniest-romanian-expressions/


	4. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 4 Mike Believes

Summary:

Henry and Jo have a long talk, baring their feelings for each other. He and Abe decide it's time to escape from their so-called refuge. Mike makes a startling discovery when he finally handles the Roman dagger, the Pugio, and makes an equally startling decision.

This chapter is a bit short but I'm comfortable with its stopping point. Thank you all for your comments, favs and follows, and your continued interest and support.

_vvvv _

_"You bugged my home! Invaded our privacy!" Henry hurled the accusations at Austin, who visibly flinched from them. _

_"We had to be sure about you, that you were no threat, either," Austin explained. "We make no apologies for that." _

vvvv

That evening in their room, Henry mulled over what he and Abe had learned in General Austin's office that morning. It was inconceivable to him that the federal government had even entertained, let alone employed Adam as one of their operatives at all. Not much good had come out of the meeting except that the government had now severed ties with him after his egregious assaults on him and others in New York City during the last few months of 2014 into the middle of 2015. The equally troubling conversation afterward with his now sleeping son returned to him.

_"They should have had him drawn and quartered after he killed Mom," Abe grumbled. _

_"You've always contended that he didn't kill her," Henry reminded him. __"That he only wanted her to lead him to me. But in the process," he conceded, "he frightened her so much that she felt taking her own life was the only way to keep him from us." _

_"Yeah ... well ... that was before we just found out that those clowns knew all about him and just ... allowed him to remain a loose cannon out there!" Abe angrily exclaimed. He looked at his father, whose countenance mirrored his hurt, anger, and frustration. _

_"Don't you see, Dad? They let her rot in that lonely spot all those years - " _

_Henry turned away from him but Abe stepped back in front of him. _

_"They could have told us!" Abe sobbed. He was now overcome with emotion and dropped down onto the sofa. "She didn't have to stay there all alone. We could have ... gotten her, given her a decent burial ... " His chest heaved with deep sobs at the thought of the woman who'd lovingly raised him dying in the small ravine and her body remaining there for 30 years. "Mom didn't deserve that! Those bastards!" _

It was now well past midnight by his pocket watch. He snapped it shut and looked over at his sleeping son, envious of his ability to slumber. Sleep remained an elusive tease for him so he walked out onto the small patio and stood under the night sky's canopy of stars. He breathed in the crisp, night air as if it could cool his anger and soothe the hurt over how his beloved Abigail's life had ended in that ravine and how this government had allowed her body to rot there unattended and unclaimed for such a long time. This place, the Green, as Austin had called it, no longer felt like a refuge and he wholeheartedly agreed with his son that it was no longer desirable to remain there. But how to make that happen? He had to get a message to the Lieutenant. Perhaps Donaldson and his team could be sent back to retrieve them and return them to their home, he thought.

A familiar sound broke into his thoughts. The burner cell phone on the night stand next to his bed was buzzing. He smiled when he saw "Jo" displayed on the small Caller ID and he quickly activated it to answer it in the way that Abe had shown him.

"Hello, Detective," he greeted her, a smile in his voice. "Counting sheep not working for you, either?"

_("Hey, Henry," she replied, chuckling. "Seems like insomnia is going around. Just got off the phone with Mike.") _

"Sorry," he said. "Seems that anyone dealing with Adam will invariably be robbed of sound sleep."

_("It's not your fault, Henry," she told him. "Sleepless nights seem to go hand-in-hand with many investigations. But ... that's not exactly why I called you.") _

"Oh? All right." When she didn't speak again right away, he added, "For whatever reason you did call, it makes me very happy."

_("It, um, it's just that we haven't had a chance to talk ... about things.") _

Her loud sigh told him that she was nervous, almost embarrassed. "You said that you would have more questions for me," he reminded her.

_("No. Yes. I mean ... God, Henry! I wanted you to know that ... you're still Henry to me. You're still my partner. My best friend.") _

Friend, he thought to himself, pursing his lips.

_("And I meant it when I told you that you had made me feel ... again. I don't know what my life would be like without you now.") _

What was she telling him? "Jo, I ... feel the same way," he admitted. "Working with you ... getting to know you ... it's meant a great deal to me. You hold a ... a very special place in my heart." What was he telling _her_?

_("That's, that's nice to know, Henry." After a short pause, "Don't leave, Henry. Don't go somewhere and hide like you said you've done before. Please come back to us. Come back to __**me**__.") _

She was telling him the same thing, he happily realized. "I could never leave you, Jo. There's no place on earth I'd rather be than with you." He could hear her smile through the phone and he hoped she could hear his.

They spoke longer and when he hung up it was nearly 2:00 AM. Their conversation had unburdened both of them of their long-held secrets, mainly about how much they meant to each other. In spite of yesterday morning's revelations from Austin about Adam and his government connection, he basked in the soothing comfort of knowing finally where he stood with Jo and that they could now plan their futures together. But first, he had to find a way to extricate him and his son from this place.

Not bothering to undress except for removing his belt, tie, and shoes, he laid down on the bed and clasped his hands underneath his head. He smiled and closed his eyes as his heart closed the chapter on memories of his beloved Abigail and opened to welcome in Jo. Of course, he was taking a chance. A chance for his heart to eventually be broken again. But life was about the journey, Abigail had once told him. Life was about living, his wise son had told him. And with Jo, he was willing to live that journey no matter what the future would bring.

"Holy Sweet Nuthin's, Batman," Abe teasingly whispered.

Appalled but amused, Henry asked, "You were eavesdropping on our private conversation?"

"Some of it," he admitted. "Couldn't be helped. But most of it - I closed my ears. Kinda weird to hear your father coo like a lovesick turtledove over the phone with his girlfriend." Before Henry could finish rolling his eyes and dropping his jaw, Abe asked, "When do we escape?"

Henry chuckled, closing his eyes and shaking his head before replying, "Soon, Boy Wonder. Soon."

vvvv

Mike left Lt. Reece's house with all intentions of driving home. Instead, he drove to the precinct and debated with himself before leaving his car and entering the building. As he did so and eventually found himself in the Evidence Room, his own words rang in his ears about wanting to permanently deal with Adam the "normal" way. It was hard not to recall Zora's declarations, which felt more like an indictment, about him being a sleeping warrior able to permanently kill Adam or Oded, as she claimed he'd identified himself to her.

_"Oded mentioned something about a Roman dagger, a Pugio," Zora told them while in the Interview Room. "That he was searching for it, needed it, in order to protect himself from its magical properties. That only certain ones, the sleeping warriors, could wield it against him and take him to eternal rest." _

Mike found the aisle where the Pugio was boxed up. He hesitated before pulling the box off of the shelf and resting it on a nearby table. With blue-gloved hands, he pulled off the tape and the lid and saw the ancient weapon inside made of Illyrian iron in a large, plastic evidence bag. Something stopped him from just picking it up and examining it. He knew that the ancient weapon was used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm; not even their first weapon of choice, which was a sword. His interest in ancient weapons had begun when he was a young boy. Even though his father was a gun collector and many of the older firearms interested him, it was the knives, sabers, spears, swords and the like that really intrigued him.

A laugh scoffed out of him because it brought up images of the sword-wielding Immortals in the Highlander movies. Jo had only recently told him that Lucas had illegally taken the dagger from the Evidence Room back in 2015 and given it to Henry, who had attempted to give it to Adam one fateful night.

"What am I doing here?" he whispered to himself and to the empty room. Was he really buying any of this? The ramifications of such a truth becoming part of his life troubled him deeply. It would mean that he wasn't like other human beings. That his was a special "condition" that he, like Henry, had absolutely and totally rejected even though others might marvel at and be envious of it. Would it mean that he was also some kind of Immortal? No. He immediately and thankfully rejected that reasoning. Zora had said that Adam had told her that he was descended from this Aetius guy. That meant those descendants, his ancestors, lived and died as everyone else had. And so would he. But ... what would happen to him after he killed Adam with this Pugio? Would his destiny be fulfilled, therefore, eliminating the need for him to live any longer? Would he be unwillingly compelled to kill others like Adam?

He shut down his thoughts and clamped the lid back onto the box, shuddering. This was crazy. All. Too. Crazy. But how does one kill an Immortal? He'd just keep coming back. Was this really a way to do that and he was shrinking from his purpose forged centuries before his birth?

_"How do you handle it, Doc?" Mike asked as they sat in Bellevue's ER waiting for word on Lucas. _

_"If there's one thing I've learned in my long life, Detective, is that one can only play the hand that fate has dealt them," Henry quietly replied. "Admittedly, sometimes kicking and screaming, raising all reasonable objections - other times with resigned resolve. In the end, we cannot escape what has been purposed for us." _

"Damn it!" he cursed out loud. Then, calming himself, he thought, "If the Doc can do it ... so can I."

The lid removed once again, he stared at the Pugio and lifted the bag out of the box, holding it up in front of him. He unzipped the bag and reached in to remove the dagger. As soon as he touched it, he felt a tingling sensation like the one he'd experienced when he was a kid and had stuck his finger in the wall socket. The muffled chatter of raised voices played at his ears along with faint images of people huddled together inside what appeared to be an expansive meeting hall. He tightened his grip on the weapon's handle and the voices grew louder and, along with the images, more distinct.

A crowd of at least 20 or more men dressed in togas draped over tunics, withdrew from the bloodied body of a man similarly dressed. Despite his many injuries and loss of blood, the man managed to stagger to his feet and stumble a few steps forward, mouthing what sounded like, "Et tu, Brute?"

Astonished, Mike dropped the weapon and it clattered onto the table top. Great, he thought, that's all I gotta do is break this darn thing and have IA on my back. He swallowed, gathering his courage, and picked the Pugio up again. He knew from his high school English Lit class that what he was "seeing" somehow, some way, was the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.

The mortally-wounded man now lay in a bloody heap on the black-and-white tiled floor of the meeting hall. The stadium seating, once filled on either side of him and a raised, throne-like chair was now emptied of its former occupants. They and the man's assailants had rushed out of the building except for a dark-haired man who had stabbed Caesar last then dropped his weapon in apparent disgust with himself.

Another man, apparently distraught, crept closer to Caesar's body. His manner of dress indicated that he was not as prosperous as either the victim or the others. He picked up the dark-haired man's discarded weapon and lunged at him yelling his name in anger: Brute! He raised the dagger and Brute froze. A Roman soldier stepped in front of Brute shielding him from the distraught man bent on vengeance. Seemingly out of nowhere, another man resembling - Adam - stepped in front of the distraught man and the next thing he saw was the soldier's dagger stabbing Adam in the stomach. But it was a mistake. The soldier had meant to stab the man wielding Brute's discarded dagger. Brute watched in horror as the distraught man helped the wounded and bleeding Adam out of the meeting hall.

The images ceased and Mike caught his breath. Dropping the weapon back into the plastic evidence bag and into the box, he wiped his brow and removed the gloves, tossing them into a nearby waste bin. He struggled to make sense of all he'd seen and how it differed greatly from what he'd ever heard about Caesar's assassination or what he'd been taught in school. It wasn't often that he wished that Henry was here to share his knowledge about things but he wished he was here now. If anyone besides Adam knew about the Ides of March, it would be Henry. Absent that, and the fact that he'd clearly seen the Roman soldier knife Adam in the stomach, he reluctantly decided to seek more information from another trusted source: his wife, Karen.

The Hanson home the following evening ...

"You wanna know what **I** know about Julius Caesar?" a disbelieving Karen asked her husband. He nodded and asked why that surprised her so much.

"Because you're asking me to sort of lecture you when you complain all the time about your ME friend and his lectures," she explained. "But ... okay. Don't say I didn't warn you, though."

For the next several minutes, she proceeded to recount to him what he already knew about Caesar's assassination. But she said nothing about a Roman soldier stabbing what looked to be a poorer class citizen. When he questioned her about it, she thought for a moment or two then said something that seemed to tie in with what he'd "seen" the night before while handling the Pugio in the Evidence Room.

"Two days after the assassination," Karen began, "Mark Antony summoned the senate and managed to work out a compromise in which the assassins would not be punished for their acts, but all of Caesar's appointments would remain valid. That kind of, well, it did mess up what the conspirators had in mind; why they felt the need to get rid of Caesar. Caesar was popular with the Roman lower classes and they became enraged that a small group of aristocrats had sacrificed Caesar."

"The lower classes," Mike repeated. Karen nodded. "Sounds weird," he scoffed. "What if one or two of them had tried to get revenge. Think that might have happened and nobody, uh, wrote it down? For posterity?"

"Anything's possible," she replied. "We all know that history only gets recorded because somebody took the time to sit down and write it down. Doesn't mean they always get all the facts. And some facts are simply omitted. Makes the account sound better."

Okay, Mike told himself, I'm a believer. Whether he was some kind of sleeping warrior or not, he wasn't sure but something was up with that dagger. And for that reason, he was willing to use it to take out Adam. But when? Can't just walk up to the guy and knife him without provocation, he thought. This warrior stuff was gonna be harder to pull off than he'd imagined.

Notes:

Information on Julius Caesar's assassination and ancient Roman togas found on the Internet


	5. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 5

Hi, everyone. Sorry for the long delay in posting this latest update. Took me a while to figure out which twisty road to take the story down. Hope you enjoy it and thank you for your reviews and continued interest. It means a lot to me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_"__M__y gun discharged," __a worried __Jo __sai__d. "What do I put in my report about that?"_

_"We don't have a bullet," Reece quickly pointed out. "I'm sure we all know why that is__ and I'm sure y__ou can come up with something__ same__ as you did before whenever you omitted certain things from your reports about Dr. Morgan and/or his son."_

vvvv

Jo, after leaving Reece's home ...

A long, hot shower and a warm glass of milk laced with brandy had worked wonders to soothe her tired limbs. Unfortunately, they had done little to ease her troubled mind. Although the Lieutenant had apparently been quite thorough in having the bullpen's surveillance footage sanitized of Henry's recent self-demise, it had been left up to her to figure out how to explain her gun having been discharged that day. And how, exactly, was she to do that?

They now knew that Henry was an Immortal and couldn't permanently die. Mike was probably some kind of keeper of the spirit of an ancient warrior who could kill Adam. And, of course, she was some kind of magician who could make evidence of a gun discharge disappear.

"Abra cadabra presto!" Jo sarcastically recited and took another swig of her milk and brandy.

She'd just gotten off the phone with Mike, who promised to help her come up with a believable scenario. Reece had said Liz Chamberlain removed the sound of Henry having fired her weapon.

_"Just have her put it back in," Mike offered as a viable solution. "Doc reached for your weapon, you tried to keep it away from him and it fell to the floor and discharged." _

_"That might work," she replied. _

_"Not as simple as I like things to be but - workable," Mike said, hopeful. _

_"And the bullet?" Jo asked. When met with silence from Mike, they both knew that they had to go back to the drawing board. _

It was assumed that the bullet had lodged in Henry's brain and vanished along with his body when he'd died. But it had all happened so quickly after he'd pulled the trigger. What if the bullet had gone straight through and was lodged in the wall or ceiling in the bullpen? She had to do a trajectory study but thought it best not to contact Liz again nor get help from one of the precinct's techies. Fortunately, there was the next best thing in the form of an Assistant ME who fashioned himself an undiscovered filmmaking talent, eager to help his boss, and who was being discharged from the hospital the next day.

In the meantime, she really felt the need to call Henry and find out how he and Abe were doing. Who was she kidding? She needed to hear Henry's voice. To make sure he hadn't decided to run. To let him know that they were working hard to clear the path for him and his son to return and resume their lives here in New York. And ... to make it clear to him that he would break her heart if he didn't.

After she'd spoken over the phone with Henry for nearly two hours into the wee hours of the morning, Jo finally relaxed enough to fall asleep with a smile on her lips.

vvvv

The next morning ...

Lucas' mother, Dora, had driven him home from Bellevue Hospital around 11:30 AM to his apartment after he'd been cleared for discharge. She'd camped out in his room every night in spite of both Eugenia's and his pleas for her to bunk at his place while he was hospitalized. His Mom was a gem and he loved her dearly but she had a tendency to be overly dramatic at times, usually expecting the worst. And right now she tended to expect the worst from his continued association with his boss, Dr. Henry Morgan. But no matter how much she had argued against it, Lucas was determined to retain his employment with the OCME and under the tutelage of his very learned boss. He knew that she only wanted the best for him but his mind was made up. He was sticking with Team Morgan!

Shortly after she and Eugenia had left to return to their home in New Jersey, he'd barely had a moment to really kick back and relax in the blessed silence of his apartment. He settled back onto his familiar old futon and flipped the TV on to the Golf Channel because some of those women golfers were stupid hot. No matter how pretty a couple of the nurses had been, he definitely wasn't going to miss those periodic blood draws or that cold bed pan.

vvvv

At the same time in the bullpen, Jo and Mike sat at their desks lost in their own thoughts about this very unsual case of Lucas almost being drowned by one Immortal and saved by another. Since Reece said they had to build the case against Adam - they preferred to call him by the name that Henry did - brick by brick, that's exactly what they were going to do.

In keeping with that directive, earlier that morning they had met at the Harbor Unit's mooring location and searched just about every inch of the tour boat Adam had rented. His doctors had been able to determine that Chlorasone had caused Lucas' nausea and vertigo but not even in the galley where Adam may have prepared the drink or in the seating area where Lucas had consumed it, was that or any similar substance found. As good as they both were at detecting, in this moment, they felt the void of Henry's all-seeing eye and verbose hypotheses.

"Phoned Toliver, the Boathouse Manager," Mike told Jo. "Told him that he could pick up his boat anytime from the Harbor Unit."

Jo sighed. "Yeah. No use holding it any longer. Adam left no smoking gun clues for us to find."

"Except Lucas' side effects," Mike pointed out. "That psycho laced his drink with some kinda rat poison," he angrily rasped. The doctors had attributed Lucas' recovery to his youth and great physical condition.

Mike left his desk and paused at Jo's before walking toward the elevator. "Gonna have a look-see again in his office, uh, Farber's office."

"Need another eye?" Jo asked.

"Nah," he replied, hitching his pants up. "But thanks. See ya later." He walked toward the elevator and hoped that she didn't see through his facade. For his main reason for searching the office again was to see if there was anything there that could shed any light on Adam's connection to the dagger. The same dagger he had spirited out of the Evidence Locker the night before. Maybe, he thought, he could find a written warning in the office or a set of directions he'd kept on how to avoid getting killed by a sleeping warrior. It was a long shot, Mike knew, and a crazy one but he had to pursue it.

Once he arrived at Bellevue, he quickly gained access to the office Adam had used while posing as Farber, a psychotherapist. He, Jo, and Reece had gone over it with a fine toothed comb and surprisingly found the diplomas on the wall to be legitimate. He really had obtained a degree in Psychology - in 1932. His most current records on file, like Henry's, appeared to be fake. The photos of him posing with a woman may also have been fake but they had not been able to identify her to question her.

Mike removed the smaller 3" x 5" photo from its frame and flipped it over. He already knew that there was nothing on the back to identify where or when it had been taken. So start with the basics - the photo paper itself. Because Reece had cautioned them as much as possible not to utilize the techies in the precinct, another source came to mind. Someone who knew a lot about photography, film, and special effects: Lucas. He stuffed the photo into his jacket's side pocket and apologized to the young man while he dialed his number from his cell phone.

"Sorry to interrupt your recuperation, Lucas, but this is top priority," he muttered to himself while he waited for Lucas to answer on the other end. When he got voicemail, he left a message bidding him a quick recovery and for him to call back as soon as possible.

vvvv

Back at the precinct, Jo had given up on any trajectory scenarios that pointed to the bullet fired from her gun being lodged anywhere else but in Henry's brain and having vanished along with his body after his demise. So Mike's suggestion of having the sound of the gun discharge added back to the surveillance footage that Liz Chamberlain had altered seemed to be the only workable solution. IA would just have to accept her explanation of a loose strap on her holster which helped to facilitate Henry's "attempt" to obtain her weapon.

But why? Why? Oh, she thought, because he'd panicked. Yes. And, um, he'd tried to grab her gun to go search for Adam and ... kill him. No. She heaved a deep sigh, deciding that that explanation wouldn't do.

Okay, then. Her strap was loose. He had merely tried to prevent the gun from falling out of it. But it had fallen to the floor anyway and ... discharged. She had then picked it up from the floor and they'd all left to go to the river to retrieve Lucas. Ohhhh, geeeezzzz, would that satisfy IA?

So many holes to plug up in order to help Henry keep his secret from being revealed, she ruefully concluded. It was no wonder that many times in the past, he'd simply chosen to run and hide until the coast was clear after enough people with inquiring minds had passed on. And, of course, it didn't help that the enormously wide amount of exposure given to anything posted on social media increased its longevity exponentially. It wasn't so much the bullpen's surveillance footage being posted online that worried her; it was the numerous bystanders' cell phone videos of a naked Henry after he'd rescued Lucas from the river and administered CPR to him. Reece was convinced that no one had captured a clear picture of Henry's face that day and Liz had also successfully obscured his face on the surveillance footage from the camera facing the rescue location near the river. Jo sincerely hoped her boss and the former computer hacktivist were right.

vvvv

Despite Jo having left Lucas a voicemail two hours ago wishing him a speedy recovery and for him to call her as soon as he felt up to it - and not too subtly reminding him it was urgent - he hadn't called. She was sympathetic to him needing his rest after nearly being drowned by a psycho but she felt that time was of the essence. Each day that same psycho sat in holding was a gamble for when, not if, he'd find the opportune moment to obtain his freedom by suicide. Even though both the East and Hudson Rivers were being guarded, they couldn't count on that to prevent him from still chancing an escape. Jo's impatience was getting the better of her, though, and she decided to pay Lucas a visit.

Once she arrived at his apartment building in Brooklyn Heights and parked her car, she realized that the car in front of her was very familiar. Her eyes traveled from it and up to a familiar figure pressing the buzzer at the entry door. She quickly left her car and jogged up the steps behind her official crime-solving partner.

"Hold the door, Mike!" she called to him just before the door closed. He held onto the door until she'd entered and then he let it close, clicking loudly to ensure it was locked.

"Sooo, Lucas?" Jo asked as they walked the short distance to the elevator and punched the call button.

He nodded sheepishly and pulled out the photo from Adam's office and showed it to her. "And you?" he asked her with a smirk.

"Taking your advice," she replied. "Gonna see if Lucas can work his movie magic and add the sound of the gun discharge back into the bullpen's surveillance footage." Mike nodded and knocked on the door.

vvvv

"Stehlman's Photo Shop in Tarrytown," Lucas informed Mike. "The serial number on the back of the photo was from a batch of photo paper discontinued in 2012. Purchased online from Durmont Photo and Film Supplies. I bought some of the same batch back then. It was a steal at 70% off," he added.

"Tarrytown," Mike repeated. "Lieu said that during her conference call with General Austin, Henry, and Abe, she found out that Adam had made more than one excursion there over the decades, including the time when as a motorcyclist, he was hit by a car in 1985 and critically injured."

He now knew from Henry that the accident had led Adam to Abigail, who'd attended to him while she was working as a nurse at St. Timothy's Hospital and eventually to the discovery of his fellow Immortal, Henry.

"I'll work on getting that gunshot sound added back to the bullpen's surveillance footage," he promised Jo. "Sure you don't want me to just ... erase that whole portion?"

"No," she quickly replied. "It might just bring up more questions. Do your best, okay?"

"Will do," Lucas said.

vvvv

After having unexpectedly met up at Lucas' place an hour before and submitting their individual help requests to him, Jo and Mike now motored in his assigned vehicle out to the home of Ken Halsey, the owner of Stehlman's Photo Shop in Tarrytown, since it would be closed by the time they arrived.

"Must be a pretty important photo to bring two NYPD cops all the way out here," Halsey dryly remarked as he opened the front door and allowed them to enter. Once they were seated, he said, "Lemme have a look at it."

Mike gave him the photo and he and Jo waited patiently while Halsey adjusted his glasses to study it. He stiffened slightly and a cloud passed over his face but he quickly covered it with a forced smile, saying, "No. Never seen him before."

"Him?" Jo asked, skeptical. "You recognize both of them," she stated, picking up on his body language. Halsey startled at her accusing statement but remained silent.

"Who are they?" she asked more urgently. When Halsey still gave no response, she reminded him that it was a felony to withhold material evidence. "Add obstruction of justice to that and being an accessory after the fact, you're probably looking at spending the next 15 to 20 years behind bars."

"Okay, okay, okay," Halsey finally replied, holding up both hands. "Says his name is Peter Cooley."

"What do you mean by that?" Jo asked. "You don't believe that's his real name?"

Halsey hesitated again, running his hand over his bald crown. "He blew into town on a motorcycle about four years ago. It broke down and he had to wait on the parts. Took a fancy to my daughter. Seemed like a nice guy ... at first."

"What's your daughter's name and where can we find her?" Mike asked.

"Her name's Lindsay. That's her in the photo." He looked from one to the other of them and asked, "Look, uh, you guys say you're homicide detectives. Is my daughter in any trouble?"

"We just want to ask her some questions," Jo replied. But if Lindsay was associated with Adam, that put her in deep.

Further questioning of Halsey resulted in them finding out where his daughter lived in Tarrytown but he had insisted upon accompanying them. It was getting late and the drive back to New York was a long one but they were on a mission. Once at Lindsay's home, they knocked on the door. There was no answer so Mike knocked harder, loudly calling out to her and identifying themselves. An anxious Halsey told them that there was a spare key under the mat. Mike retrieved it and unlocked the door. The house was dark and quiet as they slowly entered.

Halsey quickly walked in front of them and called out to his daughter. "Lindsay? Lindsay! It's Dad!" He turned around to face them and said, "I don't understand. She should be - " A soft moan from the back of the house caught their attention and the three of them converged on what was a bedroom. Confusion and horror overtook Halsey's face when he saw his daughter lying in bed, an empty pill bottle on its side on the nightstand. "Lindsay!" he yelled and flew to her side.

Mike drew up beside him and placed two fingers on the pulsepoint on the side of her neck. He let out a sigh of relief. "Her pulse is weak but she's still alive." Jo was already on her cell phone calling 9-1-1 while an anguished Halsey murmured his daughter's name over and over. Jo put her phone on speaker and laid it on the nightstand on the other side of the bed. She and Mike nodded to each other as they lifted Lindsay off of the bed, holding her up on either side and walking her around the room.

"Keep an eye out for the paramedics," Mike instructed Halsey.

Five minutes later, they'd arrived and rushed her away in the ambulance to St. Timothy's Hospital. Jo, Mike, and Halsey followed behind in the car.

"Any idea why she would try to take her own life?" Jo asked a distraught Halsey as he sat in the back seat of the car.

"She ... she did tell me a couple of days ago that she might be pregnant," he replied. "Said she didn't want his baby."

"Whose baby?" Jo asked even though she had a pretty good idea who.

"Peter's," Halsey replied, his voice crumbling. "He's had a stranglehold on her and me almost ever since he got here. I hated not being able to do a thing to help her. If I could have, though, I would have ... I would have killed him for her a long time ago." His voice now trembled from the anger darkening his countenance. "But ... that was impossible," he sighed.

The two detectives shared a knowing look and pulled up to the hospital behind the ambulance.

vvvv

Two hours later they were able to leave the hospital. The same one they'd visited separately in 2015 in conjunction with the investigation into the deaths of Belinda Smoot and Abe's mother, Sylvia Blake aka Abigail Morgan. It felt surreal to both of them to be there once again, this time to question a young, suicidal woman about her connection to Adam. It relieved them to know that the bottle of sleeping pills, although found empty, had only six pills remaining in it that she had ingested and that the prognosis for her recovery was good. Her physical recovery, that is. They were also relieved - probably as much as Lindsay was - to find out that she was not pregnant.

"What a coincidence. Timothy is the patron invoked against stomach and intestinal disorders," Mike observed.

"And your point being?" Jo asked.

"We're here ... at a hospital named for him and this chick decided to cash it in by dumping a load of gunk into her stomach," he clarified.

"I'm just glad she was wrong about carrying Adam's baby and that they were able to pump that 'load of gunk' out of her," Jo said. "But I can't imagine what it was like to be with him, someone like that. To, to have him touch me, ugh!" she added, shuddering and running her hands up and down her arms.

"And, uh, it's not because he's an Immortal," Mike smirked. He chuckled when she gave him a 'really' look. "Some guys got it and some guys don't, right?" he added, chuckling more, and ignoring her glaring eyes. "That blush, Detective," he teased. "You're blush-inggg."

"Just drive, Mike!" Jo demanded, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Grrrr!"

While they motored from Tarrytown back to the city, miles away at the Greenbriar Hotel, General Austin was having a phone conversation with his superior, also a general but who's rank held more stars than his did.

"Pardon me, Sir, but in my opinion, Morgan presents no threat to our national security." Austin glanced at the time displayed on his cell phone: 1:03 AM and winced. "He just wants to be left alone to live his life the best way he can ... I understand that, Sir, but he's already stated in no uncertain terms that he has no desire to become one of our - Tomorrow? With all due respect, Sir, I think it would be a big mistake to - " Austin sighed and squeezed his eyes shut. "Yes, Sir, but I'll, I'll need a little more time ... I understand, Sir."

The call ended, Austin released another deep sigh, dreading what was to happen to their two newest guests in the next few days. It was times like these that made him question his decision last year to delay his retirement. That made him ashamed of some of the orders he was charged to carry out.

Notes:

Information on substances that cause nausea and vertigo, and St. Timothy found on the Internet

Slight reference to "Forever" TV show S01/E21 "The Night in Question"


	6. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 6 Mike & Adam

This chapter is shorter than the previous ones. Mike does get to confront Adam, though. Hope you like it.

XXXXX

_"Pardon me, Sir, but in my opinion, Morgan presents no threat to our national security," General Austin informed his superior on the other end of the phone call. "I think it would be a big mistake to - Yes, Sir, but I'll, I'll need a little more time."_

vvvv

"Impressment," Henry rasped through clenched teeth. "The American government plans to forcibly recruit me into the ranks of their secret operatives." He had known of this practice employed by the British Royal Navy that forcibly compelled young men to serve, although he'd served willingly in the late 1700s. The impressment period, called the Age of Sail, lasted from roughly the mid-16th to the mid-19th centuries. In this modern day and age, it both amazed and dismayed him greatly that the practice was still alive and well and now being used by the government of his adopted country against him.

"I knew we weren't safe here! I _knew_ it!" Abe huffed. He managed to calm himself and face his father, his fists on his hips. "You've gotta break outta here, Dad." Abe raised his voice over his father's protests. "Get out of here and bring back the Cavalry for me."

"Wish it were that simple," Henry replied, pursing his lips. "As sound as you may think your suggestion is, you've overlooked the fact that pertinent waterways near here are most likely being guarded in case I might make an, ah, appearance in one of them." He shook his head at Abe's suggestion. "No. We leave here, we leave together."

Abe, deflated, sat down on the sofa and Henry sat down next to him, patting his hand. "Don't worry, son. I have complete faith in Lt. Reece and the others. They promised to come and I'm sure they will."

It was mid-morning but neither of them felt like taking a meal after General Austin had shared the news with them of the government's impending actions concerning Henry. Although they believed that the pained look in his eyes was genuine, it did them little good. Especially since they had been told nothing about what the government's plans were regarding Abe. Would he be taken somewhere and kept in a witness-protection type program but ultimately held hostage in an effort to force Henry's unwilling compliance?

"We need a miracle, Abe," Henry told his son, his eyes darting back and forth.

"Okay. I believe in miracles," Abe replied confidently. He believed in his miraculous Dad. Even that scoundrel, Adam, was a miracle of existence.

They stood face to face and stared determinedly at each other almost mesmerizing each other as if that could produce a brilliant idea from them. A knock at the door startled them, bringing them back to the reality of their surroundings. Another knock and they both sighed. Henry walked over and opened the door. A visibly upset Captain Ness stood before him.

"Dr. Morgan, something's wrong with General Austin," she told him almost breathlessly. The concern on her face and in her demeanor washed over onto him and Abe. "Could you come and see if you can help him?"

"Yes, yes, of course," he replied, his first responder instincts taking over as he and Abe hurriedly followed her into the General's office.

There, they found him pale, sweaty, obviously in pain, partially collapsed with one knee on the floor, and the other leg outstretched as he leaned against the side of his desk. His eyes were half shut and he took short, shallow breaths while one hand fumbled in his side pocket. Henry quickly recognized the signs of cardiac distress. Henry knelt down in front of him, loosening the man's tie. After retrieving what appeared to be nitroglycerin pills from Austin's pocket, he helped administer them to him by placing one under his tongue.

"Help me with him, please?" he asked Abe. Together, they supported him on either side and laid him down on the nearby leather couch. "Shouldn't your own medical staff be attending to you?" Henry asked Austin.

"Those ... first aid ... weekend warriors?" Austin weakly disparaged. He blinked his eyes fully open and looked at Henry. "Thank you. But I wouldn't have blamed you ... if you would've ... refused to come." He closed his eyes again and smiled. "First do no harm ... eh, Doctor?"

Henry didn't respond to Austin's rhetorical question and instead urged him to rest. Captain Ness had retrieved a blanket and pillow from Austin's suite one floor above. He helped her place the pillow under Austin's head and spread the blanket over him. He then motioned for her and Abe to move away from the general.

"How long has he had this condition?" Henry asked Ness, although he guessed from the strength of the prescription that it was a recent development.

Ness shook her head. "I didn't know anything about it or those pills. But when I left to get you, he was still standing."

"Was it his idea to send for me?" Henry asked.

"No," she replied. "He said he didn't think you would come and that it would pass." She looked at Austin and sighed. "Guess I disobeyed orders."

"You probably saved his life," Abe pointed out. "It didn't look like he was gonna be able to take his medicine by himself."

"He's right," Austin said, his voice still weak. "You saved my life, Captain ... by bringing the doctor."

They walked back over to him and Henry knelt down beside him and began checking his vital signs. Austin waved him off, though. "I'm okay now, Doctor. Thank you. Ness?"

"Yes, General," she quickly replied.

"I didn't ask you ... to go for ... the doctor."

"Yes, I know, General. I apologize for - "

" - doing what you felt ... you had to do," Austin finished for her, his voice a bit stronger but his breathing still a bit labored. "Don't ever apologize ... for that," he told her. Ness smiled, visibly relieved at not being reprimanded.

"But I recently ... received orders," Austin continued, "to do something ... I totally disagree with." He cast an apologetic eye up at Henry and Abe and looked at Ness again. "It's been a long time, Captain ... since I wilfully disobeyed a ... direct order. I'd rather ... you not be ... part of this."

"Begging the General's pardon," Ness told him, "but as long as I'm disobeying, might as well keep the streak going."

vvvv

While General Austin and Captain Ness were busy "disobeying" by contacting Lt. Reece to let her know it was time to whisk Henry and Abe away from their no longer safe haven, Adam sat in a holding cell at Ryker's. He recalled how he'd been transferred there from Bellevue wearing a brown mask of high-grade resin that covered his nose and mouth with a barred opening to allow for breathing and speech. They'd strapped him in a straight-jacket over an orange jumpsuit while strapped to a hand truck. He knew that images of the infamous movie villain, Hannibal Lecter, would rise in anyone's mind - indeed, in his own - at the sight of him. The equally despicable Immortal tiredly asked himself if all of that was really necessary since the injury to his arm had not yet healed enough to allow him to use it. Therefore, he was no immediate threat for combativeness.

Mortals. So fearful of the unknown, Adam disdainfully remarked to himself as he'd been pushed from his cubicle in the ER, down the hospital corridors and outside to waiting bus, scoffing inwardly at the occasional but expected gasp from others. But he wasn't going to bite anyone like a damn werewolf or vampire, for God's sake! If only they knew, he smugly assured himself, if only they understood what he was, they would worship him like all those others. Lindsay, her father, Zora in the tarot card shop, who happened to be a true medium. And the others; the many, many others of whom neither the NYPD nor even the government were aware.

The several pockets of mortals throughout the tri-state area who always lowered their eyes at the sight of him, afraid to meet his piercing gaze but too fearful of reprisal to disobey him or refuse him comfort or shelter. From one generation to the next, they were resigned to do his bidding because he had proved in the most gory ways that he could be killed but would always return. Whole and unharmed. And seeking bloody vengeance against any and all who had dared challenge him. Their terrorized state was only increased by the fact that he never appeared to age and had maintained a stranglehold on their lives for more than a century and a half.

It mattered not to Adam that they all would like nothing better than to see him permanently dead. It wasn't uncommon for most people to disagree with their ruler. He knew that. Came with the territory. One had to be strong to attain that high position and remain strong in the face of criticism and opposition. It's what helped to make him even stronger and make him greater. The fact that any mortal would disagree with him or be horrified at his ... suggestions ... only served to confirm to him that he was making the right decisions; the hard and necessary ones.

Mortals knew nothing about power, real power or how to wield it. And poor Henry. Reacting to him the same way that a mortal would. Appalled and fearful. And plotting, most likely; always plotting but never successfully carrying out their plans for his destruction. He always won. If not today, he assured himself, tomorrow. Or another day. Or another year. However long it would take. But he would win in the end.

A white-smocked, green-eyed young woman in her mid-thirties with 1980s big hair approached him. She produced a syringe and smiled as she found a spot on the side of his neck and plunged it in before he could react. He grimaced at the fact that she hadn't even swabbed the area before injecting him. And it brought back memories of when Henry had injected him in the same spot with an air bubble.

"Pleasant dreams," the woman bade him as the drug began to quickly take effect.

He was aware of being unstrapped from the hand truck and lain down on the holding cell's small, uncomfortably unyielding metal cot. One of the uniformed personnel grunted out about him being a heavy sack of shit despite his small stature, which naturally did not sit well with Adam but raised a chuckle from the jokester's companion. Through his enveloping fog, Adam managed to make note of their badge numbers, names, committed their faces to memory. They would eventually be taught the same harsh lessons that others who'd mocked him in the past had learned, he vowed. And no matter how long it took, he vowed to return to the city of New York. If it took a lifetime or two, at least Henry would be there or somewhere in the world when he returned. And mortals, unlike himself and Henry, had no problem proliferating. They proliferated at an enormous rate and there would be others to take the places of those who would die who now cowered under him. Like grapes on a vine they were ripe for the plucking. Always ripe for the plucking.

The two uniformed personnel left the holding cell, taking the hand truck with them. The drug was fogging his brain even more. But before it overtook him, sending him into a dreamless sleep, he saw a figure enter the cell. He fought against the brain fog longer than he knew they expected him to.

It was a man. A man in a suit with dark hair and a ... badge hanging on a lanyard around his neck. Adam blinked and swallowed at the sight of Det. Mike Hanson. But why had he come to visit him alone?

"In a few more minutes," Mike began, "they tell me that you're gonna go under. I just came to warn you that I now know."

"You ... you know what?" Adam asked, fading fast.

"That I have the pugio. The same one that a Roman soldier stabbed you with in 44 B.C., the same day that Julius Caesar was assassinated," Mike replied. "And I know that I can kill you with it. Permanently."

Adam chuckled, his eyes half closed. Mike was a big, fuzzy blur and his voice more and more muffled. But somehow, his words sliced through the fog as sharply as the pugio had sliced into him over 2,000 years ago. He opened his eyes wider and blinked several times at Mike's blurry image. The drug's effects now rendered him speechless but he wanted to tell him something like good luck or "have fun with that" as New Yorkers sometimes mockingly said.

Mike bent over, placing his face closer to Adam's. "Take a good look at me. Concentrate on the eyes since that's what you might remember best," he advised the Immortal. The mirth left Adam, Mike remarked, "Ya see it, don't ya? I just found out that I'm one of those 'sleeping warriors' awake and ready to deliver a permanent dirt nap to you, buddy. And we both know that there ain't nuthin' ya can do to stop me."

Adam squeezed his eyes shut, succumbing to the drug but trying to shake off the truth of Mike's words. The eyes. It was the eyes. The memory of the soldier's eyes hit him hard and he saw them once again in Mike's. The same eyes. Passed down through the ages to this mortal man graced with an ability that could ruin him. For the first time in his extraordinarily long life, he feared someone else. Mengele, he had dreaded. But this man, this ordinary mortal in possession of the pugio that had made him an Immortal, could use it to end his life. Forever.

Notes:

Impressment information found at wiki/Impressment and at

wiki/Age_of_Sail

Slight reference to "Forever" TV show S01/E22 episode "The Last Death of Henry Morgan"


	7. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 7

Thanks to Lt. Reece's (and Jo's) connections, a sleek, teal blue, Lockheed-Martin Sikorsky helicopter with long, thin, red and white upswept stripings on the sides touched down on the building's helipad. The side door opened, signaling to Henry and Abe it was time for them to board and leave the Green, as General Austin called it. Austin shook both men's hands.

"Wish your stay could have been more ... enjoyable," Austin sincerely told them.

"I sincerely hope that your helping us won't result in too much trouble for you and the Captain," Henry said, recalling similar concerns he'd had long ago for Father Sullivan shortly before the defrocked priest had helped him escape from Southwark Prison by hanging himself.

"Don't worry about that, Doctor," Austin replied. "The Captain's not even here."

Henry and Abe smiled and nodded, understanding.

"Besides, I think you'll find that your Lt. Reece's reach goes far beyond even mine," he commented, looking at the snazzy helicopter then back at them. "Time I retired, anyway," he wryly chuckled.

Captain Ness stepped closer to Austin and hooked her arm around his. "Time we both did, Willie," she added. He hesitantly but with a pleasured smile, looked at her and squeezed her hand on his arm.

Henry and Abe shared a knowing look and the foursome parted with smiles and waves. Father and son quickly boarded the waiting helicopter. From their viewpoint, they could see another person seated inside but were totally surprised to see that it was Jo's former beau and billionaire hotelier, Isaac Monroe.

"Good evening, gentlemen," a beaming Isaac greeted them with his familiar raspy voice. "Someone told me that you two needed a lift."

They settled in and the helicopter lifted them upward into the night sky. "They, uh, make these for civilians?" Abe asked, impressed and grinning.

"They do for _this_ civilian," Isaac proudly replied.

vvvv

"Ahhh, it's good to be back home," Abe happily exhaled. "Good to see they repaired the broken glass while we were away," he noted, impressed. And didn't steal anything, he cynically thought to himself. Looking at the unmarked police car parked across the street, he added, "Looks like our protection has arrived." He turned and caught up with his father as they both neared the stairs to the second level. "And how 'bout our Lt. Reece sending that Isaac guy to our rescue?"

"Our ... Lieutenant?" Henry asked, teasingly. "You don't work for her, Abraham."

"Technically, neither do you," Abe pointed out as they climbed the stairs. They entered the darkened kitchen and Abe flipped on the lights before saying, "But she's definitely our friend."

"You're right, Abraham," Henry agreed. "As is Isaac."

"Yeah, well, guess I'll add his name back to my list," Abe grudgingly conceded. "Long as he lets me zip around in that sleak job of his again - and that he stays away from Jo."

"Abe," Henry admonished him, grinning and shaking his head. He knew that Jo and Isaac had not been a couple since the end of their brief courtship in 2015. "What say we have some warm milk before sleeping in our own beds," he proposed. Abe nodded in agreement.

vvvv

The Hanson household across town was a bit less peacful. A lot less peaceful.

Mike's wife, Karen, sat on the foot of their bed, rigid and worried. Worried himself, he paced back and forth in front of her. She hadn't responded yet after he'd told her about him being a 'sleeping warrior' and how that connected him to the dangerous Immortal, Adam. Karen sat barely breathing, wringing her hands with her eyes shifting back and forth as if searching for some answers, trying to make some sense of what he'd just unloaded on her.

Finally needing a change up, he sat down next to her. When he reached for her hands, she kept them stiff and unyielding to his touch, side-eyeing him for a few seconds then staring straight ahead. The look of worry slowly became one of resolve.

"Honey. Say something, please," Mike begged her, reluctantly pulling his hand away from hers. "If I could change things, I would. Believe me. I didn't ask for this but ... it's just the way things are."

She took in a deep breath and blinked rapidly. He knew she was trying to hold it together, not to cry. It tore his heart out to scare her this way. But he knew that he had to tell her because of their boys. This curse or blessing or whatever it was, was going to be passed down to their sons and eventually, one day, he would have to tell them about it. Hopefully, his wife would help him tell them. That's one reason he'd chosen to tell her tonight. He didn't know how much longer he could keep the dagger or when he would have to use it against Adam. The man's death by his hand was just a matter of time, he felt. And he wanted her, the woman he loved and to whom he'd devoted the rest of his life, to know what they were facing. He'd hoped they would face it together. The way she was reacting, though, worried him.

She stood up and he nervously stood up with her. "We have to get the boys out of here," Karen said. "Take them somewhere safe."

"Honey, you and the boys are safest right here with me," he told her. "It'll only upset 'em to break up their routine."

"No, I'd feel better if we got them away from here," she adamantly replied.

"Okay. Why don't you guys just go visit your folks?" he proposed, acquiescing to her. "They live closer to the boys' school, anyway."

"Alright," she replied. She stood in front of him and then buried her face into his chest. "It seems like I'm abandoning you, though," she whispered and sobbed into his chest. She leaned back and looked up at him. "I'm not. But you have something to do. Something extraordinary. I understand that. It's just ... if the boys are gonna catch this after you, there's nothing I can do to stop that. They don't have to be warriors yet, though."

They shared a long, deep kiss and then hugged each other for several minutes. "Thank you for believing me," Mike whispered to her. Henry's words about his first wife, Nora, who hadn't believed it when he'd told her that he'd been transformed into an Immortal, came back to him. He hugged Karen closer and thanked his lucky stars that she had believed his fantastical sleeping warrior claim. It would have broken his heart if he'd been forced to endure this time without her in his corner.

"Believe you? I love you, ya big lug!" she told him. "You're not crazy and no way you'd make up such a thing." She lowered her eyes then lifted them to meet his gaze again. "And there's no way you'd walk away from this. You're not built that way." They kissed again and then headed down the hall toward the boys' room.

An hour and a half and several sleepy protests later from Mike, Jr., and his younger brother, Donnie, a cab drove them and their mother away from the house. Mike braved the chilly night breeze until the cab's tail lights were no longer visible. As he went back into the house, he held on to the knowledge of her supportive love for him and her promise to contact Reece if anything came up. Although he balked at letting anyone else know their personal business, they agreed that it might be better for now if they didn't have direct contact.

Real men don't cry, he told himself. But at that moment, he felt the dam giving way to a torrent of tears stirred up from sorrow, anger, frustration, and a bit of fear. His wife and kids, the very people he was supposed to protect first, were leaving him albeit temporarily. He trusted Karen to always do her best to protect herself and the boys but since he wasn't with them, the feeling of helplessness was beginning to overwhelm him. Although she had never left him, if she had, he would have thrown back a few brews and dealt with the hangover the next day, stubborn and unwilling to apologize first. This was different, though. He knew that he had to find a way to deal with his sorrow of suddenly being alone in the now too big house. There was no telling when he would have to whip out the dagger and deal with Adam. How this whole thing worked, he wasn't sure; but he felt, hoped he was going to find out pretty soon.

Earlier, he'd retrieved the dagger from its hiding place under the floorboards in the closet in order to show Karen and explain things to her. He hadn't questioned how he'd come to have this warrior status passed on to him, assuming that it was through his father.

_"Could have been through your mother," Karen suggested. "We women are warriors, too." _

Placing the dagger under his pillow, he laid down on top of the covers, planning less to sleep and more to be ready at a moment's notice in case of ... well, anything. He was a warrior trained as a guardian with a gun. Now, he had a dagger. Either weapon, he concluded, was deadly enough to deal with any situation that might arise.

vvvv

The next morning found Lt. Reece in her office with Jo, Mike, Henry, and Lucas. Just outside her office, the bullpen hummed with its usual activity. Only this wasn't a usual morning. Mornings, days, hadn't been usual ever since the presence of Immortals had been revealed to them only a few days ago. They warmly welcomed Henry and Lucas back and then Reece told Mike that an unmarked car had been sent to keep an eye on Karen and the boys last night while they were at her parents' home.

"I know this is a tough time for you, Mike, with them away from you," Reece told him. "She assured me that they're fine, though."

"That's, uh, good to know," Mike said uncertainly. "House feels so empty without them."

"At least you know where she is," Henry somberly noted. They all now knew that Henry's second wife, Abigail, had left him in 1982, hid from him in Tarrytown where she'd died three years later. The facts regarding her death were not revealed to him until 30 years later.

"Sorry, Doc, but that doesn't comfort me all that much," Mike confessed. "I'll feel better after this Adam is out of the picture and they can come back home."

"Can't argue with you on that," Henry quickly and strongly agreed.

"Turns out Tarrytown is one of Adam's strongholds," Mike said, turning to the facts that Jo and he had uncovered.

"Wouldn't exactly call it a stronghold," Jo said.

"We don't know who else there besides Halsey and his daughter, Lindsay, are or were under his thumb," Mike pointed out.

Henry tensed and frowned while Jo did the same. No one was willing to voice their other concern about what some of Adam's minions might be willing to do on his behalf if they were as crazed as Clarke Walker had been. They didn't want to add to the worried thoughts already rolling around in Mike's mind about the safety of his wife and kids.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Reece warned them. "I've made a few phone calls. We should soon find out just how far Adam's influence extends in that small hamlet."

Turning her attention to Henry and Lucas, she told them both that although it was good to see them back, she wondered if their return to work was not a bit premature. Lucas responded that he felt fine and was anxious to get back into the fight. The others chuckled, prompting him to elaborate on why he categorized their present situation as a fight.

"This is a classic case of good fighting against evil," he told them. "Who wouldn't wanna be on the right side of that? I couldn't make this up any better for one of my short films." After a short pause, he added, "He tried to kill me. Yeah, I want to see Adam go down," he concluded.

Henry responded by saying that Abe had tried to dissuade him from returning so soon. "But as I explained to him," he added, "continuing to hide from what's happened is no longer an option for me. Because of how rapidly technology advances today, where is there for me to go and truly remain undetected? Might as well weather this storm by resuming my life here and work together with all of you to effectively contain Adam. And it would seem that someone else has been granted their 15 minutes of fame by being credited with saving Lucas," he said, dipping his head toward him and smiling.

Earlier that morning before leaving the shop for work, Abe had turned on the TV to find out what the current news stories were. That's when they'd discovered news footage of a young man fitting Henry's general description being interviewed about how he'd rescued Lucas and why he had been in the river naked at just that moment.

"Weird finding out that I was actually saved by a guy training to be a Navy Seal," Lucas chuckled wryly. "Luckily, he wishes to remain anonymous so I don't have to lie and pretend he's my hero for the rest of my life."

"Hah! I saw that! Where'd that fake news come from?" Mike chortled. "Not that it ain't welcome."

"Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Mike," Reece advised him.

"Just wish I could have done a better job of adding the sound of the gun discharge back onto the surveillance tape," Lucas said apologetically.

"Sorry you went to all that trouble, Mr. Wahl," Reece told him. With a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, she sat down at her computer and motioned for all of them to gather near, which they did. After a few pecks on the computer, she grinned and sat back in her chair, pointing to her monitor. "Is this what you were worried about?"

The surveillance footage presented was an even more sanitized version of the events on that day. It now showed the activity in the bullpen just as it had occurred from the time of Adam's call announcing that he had Lucas up until when the call had dropped. Henry's voice was heard on the tape as he'd tried desperately to negotiate with Adam but he and Abe were no longer visible. Then, miraculously, the footage seamlessly jumped to everyone in the bullpen clearing out. The playback ended and Reece activated the screensaver.

"Dude!" Lucas exclaimed. "That was f-g stellar!" He was so impressed by someone else's movie magic skills that he forgot who he was addressing (Reece) and where he was (in her office).

Jo, Mike, and especially Henry, however, did their best to bring him back to his senses and remind him that that was no way to address the Lieutenant or speak in her office. Embarrassed, he managed to sputter out an apology but Reece just grinned.

"Oh, it's okay, you guys," she assured them. "Never been called 'Dude' before but he's right. That bit of video editing is pretty - (she paused, glancing up at Lucas) - stellar. It helps to keep IA off of our backs. Not even our CCD (Cyber Crimes Division) could tell this wasn't the original footage."

"We have that gift horse to thank for this, too, I guess," Jo wryly remarked although with a healthy heaping of thankfulness.

Reece's desk phone rang and she answered it. After a few moments, she said, "Good God! Keep me posted." She hung up the phone and informed them that their worst fears had just been answered. "Adam's disappeared. They're searching the prison and the grounds for him now."

"An exercise in futility since Riker's is on the East River between Queens and the Bronx," Henry bitterly noted.

Reece nodded and said that the warden had already notified the NYPD's Cyber Crimes Division to access the DAS (Domain Awareness System) to locate the escaped Immortal. A BOLO was put out, as well.

"Please tell me they got him slinkin' outta the river," Mike pleaded with Reece. "Whichever one," he added.

Reece took in and released a sigh of frustration. "So far, it doesn't seem so. But - why not? How was he able to evade the patrols?"

"How long ago?" a worried Henry asked.

Reece shook her head slowly and fluttered her eyelids. "They're not sure but - "

"Not sure?!" Mike asked, interrupting her. "Those bozos!" he angrily condemned the prison staff. He worked to calm himself a bit before stating, "He knows about me."

"Well, I'd like to bitch slap the halfwit that told him," a confounded Reece said.

"Left or right cheek?" Mike deadpanned. Reece frowned in confusion then rolled her eyes after realizing that he meant he was the halfwit. But he continued to rant as he started to pace. "Surrounded by I don't know how many armed guards, surveillance cameras, other inmates - how'd he manage it?!"

"According to Warden Matheson, he went into the shower but never came out," Reece told them, obviously disgusted.

"Shower?" Lucas asked "What, he turned on just the hot water and scalded himself to death?"

"A person can drown on just a teaspoon of water, Lucas," Henry reminded him. "All that's needed is any amount of water in which air is blocked from getting to your lungs, even an inch of water."

"Okay, so he drowned himself and escaped," Jo said. "He also managed to evade the patrols like Lieu said."

"We can worry about how he did that later," Reece said. "Right now, we have to find out where he is. Techies are working on it as we speak," Reece added. "We have to be ready to move once they do find him."

Jo looked at Henry and realized something. "Let's say he was able to emerge from the river undetected. He'd then go somewhere he could get some help."

"He'd head to someone who could give him some dry clothing, food, shelter," Henry added, frowning slightly as his eyes darted here and there.

"Tarrytown!" Henry and Mike simultaneously exclaimed, reaching the same conclusion.

"Lindsay," Jo breathed out in a desperate whisper.

They'd barely noticed that Reece had been on the phone again being provided information on Adam's last known whereabouts from the tech staff. She hung up the phone and passed the information to them. Mike asked if the location he'd been spotted in was anywhere near the sleepy hamlet, Reece pecked on her computer and then nodded in affirmation.

"Alert Halsey and his daughter," she instructed the two detectives. "I'll contact the sheriff there. Now, go, you guys!"

vvvv

During the frantic drive over to Tarrytown, Jo rode shotgun, occasionally giving a concerned glance back at Henry and Lucas in the back seat. While Mike drove, a million thoughts raced through his mind but he wasn't quite sure it was wise to voice any of them. He was trying to keep everyone's fear level down. His own, especially. Today, he just might kill a man. In cold blood but ... for a good reason. He sighed inwardly, asking himself again if he was ready for this. Whether he was or not, he realized that both he and Henry were experiencing something quite extraordinary. And although their ... conditions ... were different, their paths had now led both of them to the psychotic Immortal, Adam. Lucas was right. You couldn't make this stuff up.

Despite Adam once again being free to roam around and wreak havoc, Henry felt encouraged by the fact that he was no longer alone in his battle against the troublesome Immortal. His son had been right when he'd told him that one day he would probably need the entire NYPD to help him against Adam. That day had come.

He was suddenly reminded of the time that he'd snatched his brother's bag of marbles from him. His brother, William, had then chased him through the house to pummel him and retrieve them. During the ensuing chase, Henry had knocked an hourglass over, shattering the glass and spewing the sand in it over a large area of his father's study. Months later, he and William were still being occasionally tasked with cleaning up each grain of sand that had spilled over a wider area than previously thought. But even years later, those tiny grains of sand had still been found, making him think that it an impossibility to have removed all of them.

This situation was much like that, he told himself. The hourglass that held the grains of his secret as well as those of Adam's and Mike's, had been broken. How far the grains had dispersed was yet to be seen. No matter how hard Lt. Reece or General Austin or any of them worked to contain the "spill", how successful would their efforts be? They could all possibly be picking up loose grains of sand from time to time for years, decades to come.

But back to Adam; he didn't fear him for his own safety for he would survive any manner of death put to him. But the added fact that Mike was capable of ending the man's life permanently admittedly bouyed his spirits. Could he and everyone else finally be rid of the psycho regardless of the symbolic hourglass having been broken? It was a comforting thought even if he was a physician sworn to an oath to heal people, not harm them. In this instance, he was gladly willing to break that oath.

Notes:

Slight references to "Forever" TV show S01/E11 "Skinny Dipper"; Sp1/E13 "Diamonds Are Forever", and S01/E22 "The Night in Question"

Information on drowning on small amount of water found at


	8. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 8

_"So Adam drowned himself and escaped, managing to evade the patrols," Jo said. "He'd then go somewhere he could get some help."_

_"To someone who could give him some dry clothing, food, shelter," Henry added._

_"Tarrytown!" he and Mike simultaneously exclaimed._

_"Lindsay," Jo breathed out in a desperate whisper. _

vvvv

A worried Ken Halsey hadn't long hung up from the NYPD Detective, Jo Martinez. He'd then quickly drove to the hospital and picked up his daughter, Lindsay, per Jo's instructions, then driven to the local police station. All the while, Lindsay questioned the urgency of his tone and behavior.

"It's Peter, isn't it?" she asked. "He's back!"

"We'll be safe here in the police station, honey," he assured her, patting her hand. "And his name, apparently, really isn't Peter Cooley," he told her. "Those two detectives said that he calls himself Adam."

"Adam," Lindsay repeated just above a whisper, shaking her head. "How could I have thought for one second that he was - " She stopped speaking and covered her face with her hands.

"He fooled us all ... at first," Halsey reminded her. Just long enough for him to gain a foothold here and make it almost impossible to get rid of him. But I think they got a plan. We just might be able to rid ourselves of him once and for all."

They pulled up in front of the station and were met by Deputy Brenda Myers before they could exit the car. Myers let them know that they'd received the alert from Lt. Reece about the escapee who might be headed in their direction. She accompanied them into the station house past the booking desk and back where the holding cells were. Just as Halsey was about to turn around and question Myers about bringing them there, she hit him over the back of the head, knocking him down. Right before losing consciousness, he heard Lindsay's muffled sobs and Myers' voice hissing at him.

"You know better than to work against Peter. We all suffer. I can't let that happen."

vvvv

Halsey didn't know how long he'd been out. His head pounded as he managed to get to his feet. Looking around, he realized he was lying on the floor in between the cells and Lindsay was nowhere to be seen. Struggling to his feet, he then stumbled to the open door at the end of the short hallway. A breathless male deputy bleeding from the right side of his forehead met him as he rushed out.

"My daughter! Your deputy knocked me out and took her somewhere!" he anguished. The deputy nodded and told him that Myers had knocked him out, as well.

"She's not a deputy," Deputy Gavin Meyers told him as they rushed and got into a patrol car.

Halsey noticed the similarity in his and her names. "She related to you?"

"My wife," Gavin lamented as he wheeled the car toward the edge of town. "She's loyal to that little creep."

"Sorry," Halsey told him, genuinely sympathetic to what the man must be going through. "All this time I thought it was just my daughter and me. You seem to know where you're going. Someplace your wife's taken my Lindsay?"

"Yeah," Gavin replied as they shot down the narrow, winding road outside of town.

"How are just the two of us gonna handle - ?"

"We got help comin'," Gaving assured him, finally allowing relief to govern his features. "The NYPD."

They drove about five miles further and took a road that led into the woods and to a log cabin near a clear, blue lake. With the snow-capped mountains as a backdrop, the scenery would have been breathtakingly beautiful except for their reason to be there. Gavin dipped his head toward a black VW Jetta parked in front of the cabin. "That's my wife's car," he said. "They must be inside."

"Why did she snatch Lindsay?" Halsey asked.

Gavin gripped the steering wheel, not wanting to reply. But he did after taking in a deep breath and releasing it. "Bren said that Peter had chosen her." Casting an apologetic look at Halsey, he verbally apologized.

"Not your fault," Halsey told him.

"It's all our fault!" Gavin yawped. "We should have fought harder against him, not ... knuckled under all the time like we did."

"Well, I'm gonna fight now," Halsey asserted as he unbuckled his seat belt. The door locks didn't work, though, and he pounded on the inside of the door demanding to be let out.

"Sorry, Mr. Halsey," Gavin told him. "We wait for back up. They'll be here soon." At the sight of his passenger's troubled expression, he added, "They're not going to hurt your daughter. Remember ... he chose her."

"All the more reason for us to get in there, Deputy," Halsey grimly stated.

Then Gavin admitted that he had known about him and his daughter all along but hadn't known what to do to help either of them. "How do you defend yourself against someone who doesn't stay dead?" Gavin asked, not really expecting a reply.

Right at that moment, his cell phone rang and he answered it, identifying himself to Lt. Reece and exchanging information with her while Halsey listened anxiously. He and Halsey were fine, he told her, despite having been attacked by one of Adam's minions. His own wife, he sorrowfully reminded himself.

"They've got my daughter, Lindsay!" Halsey leaned over and yelled into the conversation. Gavin attempted to shush him and repeated the information to Reece in a calmer, more professional voice. She reassured Halsey and him that help was only moments away and everything would be done to safely recover Lindsay. "Copy that," Gavin said and ended the call, pocketing the phone.

"There's a back way in," he told Halsey. "A back road."

"Okay, let's check it out," Halsey eagerly proposed.

"No. You're a civilian, not a cop," he pointed out to him. "We wait for back up."

They both breathed a sigh of relief when sheriff deputies from Westchester County and state troopers converged on the scene, their tires scrunching the vehicles to a stop in front of the cabin. None of them emerged from their cars, though.

"What are they doing, why are they just sitting there?" a confused and impatient Halsey asked.

"I, I don't know," Gavin replied, just as confused.

"Shouldn't they be getting out of their cars a-and shooting or something?" Halsey asked.

Gavin was at a loss for words, unable to explain the odd behavior of his fellow peace officers. Then, a troubling realization struck him. They weren't there to help. They were more of Adam's minions. He turned on the ignition and put the car in reverse when they finally got out of their cars and turned to stare at Halsey and him.

"C'mon, you two," a state trooper called out to them. "Get out of the car."

"Wha-what are we gonna do?" Halsey asked, his voice shuddering. "They're with him!"

"Hang on," Gavin said. Slamming on the accelerator, the car screeched away from the scene while taking on a barrage of gunfire. At least one of the bullets found its mark, he was sure, from the fiery pain in his left shoulder. No, his chest? Don't think about it, he ordered himself. Just drive. And drive, he did. Gritting his teeth in pain, he managed to steer with his right hand and swerve the car back onto the main road, gunning it toward the neighboring town of Greenburgh. It wasn't clear to him if that was the safest place to go but for sure, he was going to get him and Halsey away from Tarrytown. Halsey. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the man slumped forward against his seatbelt. Taking a quick look at him, he realized that a few more of the bullets had also found their marks. Lindsay's father appeared to be dead.

The road ahead blurred from the tears he was desperately blinking back at the thought of his wife, Brenda, willingly doing the twisted Immortal's bidding, and from the increasing lightheadedness from blood loss. He closed his eyes one last time, probably not even seeing the large tree as the car veered off the road and smashed into it.

Notes:

Information about the village of Tarrytown found at wiki pedia


	9. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 9

Lt. Reece and Dep. Gavin Myers exchanged information about Adam's escape and Tarrytown being his most probable destination.

"My wife, Brenda, is still in with him," he told her. "I don't know where she got the uniform from. Him, I guess. She's never been with this department or any department. But she managed to fool poor Mr. Halsey and attack him and me. We're outside a cabin near the banks of Upper Lake. I believe she's holding Halsey's daughter inside." He began to give her the directions when an anxious Halsey yelled that "they" had his daughter.

"That, that's Mr. Halsey, he's here with me," Gavin told her, motioning to the man to calm himself. He and Halsey were fine, he told her, despite having been attacked.

"The two of you stay put. Don't make a move until we get there," she strongly advised him. Gavin reluctantly agreed and ended the call.

vvvv

"How much further?" Mike asked, working to keep the lid on his anxiety. He glanced at Jo in the passenger seat next to him.

"ETA six minutes," Jo supplied. The passing scenery was all too familiar to her since she had been the one to track Henry and Abe down there in 2015 after they'd discovered Belinda Smoot's remains; and had returned soon after with Henry when they'd subsequently found Abigail's remains. The memories were painful for her. She could only imagine how Henry was dealing with them.

In the back seat, Henry sat directly behind Mike, thankful that the night's darkness helped mask the familiar landscape, softening the pain of his memories. Nevertheless, he mostly kept his eyes cast downward for fear of seeing a familiar structure or twist in the road that might stab deeper at the still unhealed wound of the memory of his Abigail's death. Or, rather, that she'd taken her own life because of how much she'd feared Adam. Adam. To even think of the strange Immortal's name left a bitter taste in his mouth and an even stronger bitterness in his heart. But back in 2015, he reminded himself, he and Abe had suffered through that loss alone, the truth of his condition and Abigail's true relationship to them buried under their cloak of secrecy. Returning to Tarrytown now to deal with Adam, he determined to keep his hopes buoyed by the fact that he had help now from his just as determined friends and colleagues. A wistful smile trembled along his lips and broadened fully when he found Jo watching him over her shoulder and giving him an encouraging look.

The GPS on Jo's phone finally showed them arriving at their destination, the cabin in the woods. Mike brought the car to a stop and ran his hand over the shape of the pugio from its handle down to the point of its blade. It had rested uncomfortably against his chest during the normally one hour drive. With a heavy foot and heavier determination, he'd managed to cut the time down to 38 minutes. At first, he hadn't told either of his companions, not even Reece, that he possessed the Caesar dagger. Somehow, Reece had known, though. She really did know everything (practically) that went on in her precinct.

_"You still have that dagger, don't you Mike?" Reece had asked._

_Caught off guard but not really surprised that she knew, he simply replied, "Yeah," and pulled it partially out of his suit jacket's inside pocket for each of them to see. He then pushed it back down into the pocket._

_"Good. We're gonna need it," Reece had told him._

_"When this is all over," Lucas had not-so-jokingly interjected, "I'd like to play match maker with that dagger and an incinerator."_

They were met with the far off but unmistakable sounds of multiple gunshots, a car's tires screeching on the road ahead of them and revving away. Mike slowed the car to a stop just before a slight rise in the two-lane road. The gunfire ceased as the sound of the speeding car faded away.

"We can't just go in," Mike said. He and Jo checked their weapons.

"There's a back way in," Henry said, his eyes darting back and forth as he called up a memory. "When Abraham and I drove out here looking for anyone who might have remembered Abigail, we stopped for gas and to confirm that we were headed in the right direction. The gas station owner had also recommended this very spot to us, telling us of the back road hikers like to take."

"Okay," Mike replied. He made a U turn and slowly drove back up the road until they spotted a road sign in the shape of a large, wooden hand pointing to their right at the very road. He drove the car as far down the road as he could until the overgrowth got in the way. "Looks like we hoof it from here, guys."

The four of them exited the car and walked down the path, actually, no longer really a road. The smell of gunfire still heavily permeated the air. Since they knew about Reece's phone call with Dep. Gavin Myers, they speculated it had been his car making the speedy getaway. His and Halsey's fates were unknown, although by the sound of those squealing tires a few moments ago, they'd apparently managed to get away.

When they arrived at the back of the cabin, Jo pulled out a hairpin from her pocket and jimmied the lock open. "I carry one now," she said in response to their questioning looks since her hair swung freely in a style not required to be held in place by hairpins. "Never know when it'll come in handy."

"My kind of woman," Mike whispered through a smirk as they carefully opened the door and entered the cabin.

"No, Detective. Actually, my kind," Henry whispered with an admiring smile.

"Awww," Lucas whisper-swooned. "Is that an admission of your feelings for her, Big Guy?"

"Can the sweet talk, guys," Mike whispered a warning to them. "We gotta get in and - "

"Just need clarification for the - " Lucas abruptly stopped talking before mentioning the betting pool on Jo's and Henry's would-be/hoped for romance after seeing their looks of disapproval. "Got it," he said, bobbing his head in a figure eight motion.

They found themselves in what appeared to be a mud room. Angry voices drifted down to them from the second floor. Both sounded female, one of which had to be Lindsay, they concluded. The relief they felt was tempered by the fact that she was still in the clutches of Brenda Myers. It did not appear that anyone else was in the cabin, though, besides the four of them and the two women upstairs. Mike advanced ahead of them past the small kitchen area and into the larger living area. He peered out of the window from behind the curtains.

"Bunch of Local LEOS (law enforcement officers) outside, lookin' like they're workin' a standoff," Mike reported. "We know they're just waitin' for Smiley to show up." One of them, a captain by the insignia on his sleeve, appeared to be in charge. "Great," he muttered to himself.

Jo flicked her head toward the ladder fashioned into a staircase at a 35 degree angle. She and Mike wordlessly indicated for Henry and Lucas to stay downstairs. Lucas took up position at the cabin's rear door, making sure it was locked but clutching a heavy piece of firewood with both hands. Henry crouched in the same spot Mike had occupied at the cabin's front window, determinedly gripping the poker from in front of the fireplace. The two detectives crept upstairs with their weapons drawn. As they cleared the landing and crept toward a rear bedroom, they finally stood outside its door and the argumentative voices inside were heard more clearly.

Lindsay: "You're crazy! You're all crazy!"

Brenda: "Just put it on! He'll be here any minute now and I promised him that I'd have you ready for him. You should feel honored that he's chosen you."

Lindsay: "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that rag."

Brenda: "It's myyyy wedding dress! At least now it can be used for something more meaningful than - "

Lindsay: "Stop! Stop! I don't want to hear any more! You're crazy! He's crazy!"

Brenda: "Put. It. On. or so help me, I'll - "

At that point, Jo and Mike had heard enough. Mike kicked the door in and he and Jo burst into the room, startling Brenda. She reached for her gun but Jo shouted for her to freeze. Brenda reluctantly raised her hands and Jo moved quickly over to her and cuffed her. While she did, Brenda smugly scoffed at their efforts to thwart the expected, twisted Immortal and his plans.

"You can't stop him," she told them, smirking. "No one can stop him. Not permanently. He's special. There's no other like him."

"If you mean he's a Class-A nut job," Mike began, "you're right. But don't be too sure about nobody being able to stop him."

"You can try," she laughed. "There's only one way to kill him. Really kill him. And you don't have the means to do that."

"Talkin' about this?" Mike asked, pulling the dagger out just enough for her to see most of it and then pushing it back into his pocket.

Brenda's eyes became horrified saucers. "Why do you have that? How did you get it? You can't - you, you're not - "

"Better believe it, Witchie Poo," Mike taunted her. "Your creepy little friend is goin' down tonight for good."

A scream began to erupt from Brenda and she tried to lunge at Mike but Jo kneed her in the gut and hit her on the back of the head with her gun, knocking her out. She dropped to the floor and they listened for any sounds outside that would indicate the LEOS, as Mike referred to them, had been alerted. Thankfully, it appeared they had not. Jo restrained her with duct tape happily produced by Lindsay from the nightstand drawer. Lindsay then pulled her socks off and balled them up together.

"Here," she happily told Jo. "Use these to stuff in her mouth."

While she and Mike dragged the properly trussed Brenda into the closet and locked it, Lindsay gushed about how happy she was to see them.

"If you hadn't gotten here when you did ... " her voice trailed off and she blinked back tears.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Jo told her. "No pun intended," she added in response to Mike's really look.

Downstairs, they found Henry backing away from the front window, washing his hand down over his face.

"What's wrong, Henry?" Jo asked.

"The crowd outside has grown in the past few minutes," he replied.

"More guns and badges?" Mike asked.

"No. Villagers," Henry responded. "My guess is that they're all waiting for Adam."

_  
Notes:  
Information on lakes in Tarrytown, NY found at

Slight reference to "Forever" TV show S01/E21 The Night in Question


	10. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 10

_"The crowd outside has grown in the past few minutes," Henry said, backing away from the front window._

_"More guns and badges?" Mike asked._

_"No. Villagers," he responded. "My guess is that they're all waiting for Adam." _

vvvv

Lucas, upon hearing the conversation in the front of the cabin, left the back door he was guarding to bravely chance a peek from behind the curtained front window. "Nope," he began, "looks like El Creepo #1 is already here."

The others crowded around the window and peeped over his shoulders to see Adam getting out of the State Police captain's car. The captain actually held the car door open for him as if he were a paid chauffeur for a rich employer. Or a valet for a celebrity arriving at a red carpet event. Adam's preferred dress of dark clothing contrasted sharply against his pale skin. The lips of his wide mouth pressed together in that satisfied smirk now familiar to all of them could be misread to be a normal smile from a normal person if not for what they already knew about him. And the delving darkness of his small, brown eyes were a dead giveaway as to the sinister thoughts festering in his warped mind.

Mike shifted his weapon to his left hand and reached into his jacket, fingering the dagger. How was he to do this? he asked himself. Just rush outside and stab the guy? And risk being made into swiss cheese by the trigger-happy throng of bodyguards. Yeah, right. He was beginning to feel again like Ralph Hinkley wishing for a manual to help guide him through this whole process of being a hero. Saving the world.

Mike's movements and troubled countenance did not go unnoticed by Henry. "Not yet, Detective," is all he said while still peering at Adam over Lucas' broad shoulders. The fact that they had taken the back road in meant that neither Adam nor any of his minions knew they were there. It would seem that the element of surprise was in their favor in this mini war. Taking an enemy by surprise, although outnumbered, was a tactic employed by many in past battles to ensure victory. The important thing was timing, though. In order to defeat Adam, they had to completely catch him off guard, a formidable foe with more than two millennia of accumulated knowledge and experience.

"Sure would be good to know when," Mike said, peering out at Adam.

"Think he knows we're in here?" Jo asked. The cabin's darkened interior was a thankful blanket of cover for them.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Henry stated. "It's always hard to tell what the man knows."

"At least we now know how he gets a lot of his information," Lucas said. "He's got eyes and ears in places none of us were even aware of."

"Hmmm. That crazy woman upstairs in the deputy uniform said that he (Adam) was the only one. That there was no other like him," Jo recalled. She looked at Henry when he turned to look at her. "She didn't know about you." Henry straightened up from his hunched over stance and considered her words. "Don't you see? He's got them all believing that he is the only Immortal. How shocked would they be to learn that he knew about another one for decades but didn't tell them?"

"And that an Immortal doesn't have to be a freak and freak them out," Lucas added, pointedly eyeing Henry and bobbing his head up and down.

"Prove him wrong to them," Jo urged. "Let them know they do have a choice not to follow him."

"My thoughts exactly, Detective," Henry said, a soft smile on his lips.

"Well, whatever we're gonna do," Mike said forebodingly, "we better do it now." He tipped his head toward the front window. "Looks like Adam's comin' in."

vvvv

Three helicopters pierced the night sky as they raced toward the location near Upper Lake provided them by Dep. Gavin Myers only moments earlier. Controlled anxiety. Professional and level-headed. ESU Team Leader Rod Donaldson sat across from Lt. Joanna Reece in the lead helicopter and let these and other thoughts dance through his head as he gazed at her, hoping that the dark tint of his goggles would hide the admiring but unprofessional look in his eyes, considering the situation they were responding to. He imagined how it would feel to have her grip him the same way that she was gripping that assault weapon. A very audible huffing sigh was released from her as if to shake off his mental mapping of her body. Looking out of the window to her left then to her right but not at him, he knew it was a wordless instruction for him to cease and desist in whatever unseemly thoughts he was entertaining about her. About them.

"ETA, Sgt?" Reece asked, still looking to her right at the disappearing landscape beneath them. Not that he wasn't smart, brave, and Lord-a-Mighty attractive, he was just too damned young for her. Ten years' difference in their ages might not bother him because he was at the low end of the range. Sheer vanity made it a problem for her, though. Her man simply _had_ to be the same age or older than she was. Period. And right now they had some rescuing to do.

"Less than 15 minutes, Lieutenant," Donaldson replied. "Had any luck reaching that deputy again?" She sighed again and shook her head. The probable reason being the deputy's demise helped them both to sharply focus once more. "How about our A Team (Team Morgan)?"

"They've managed to make it inside the cabin undetected, they think, and neutralize Dep. Myers' misguided wife," she replied. "Mr. Halsey's daughter, Lindsay, is okay." The unspoken was that Halsey had most likely met the same fate as Dep. Myers.

"Was just admiring the way you hold that weapon, Lieutenant, and how comfortable you look in that assault gear," Donaldson told her. "Ever think about switching over?"

She turned her head slightly to look him directly in the eyes. "No," is all she said and returned to the view outside of the window. Damn tender!

vvvv

The throng outside the cabin hushed and stilled as Adam gave an inaudible command to the captain who passed it to two of his troopers. They quickly jumped in a car and drove away in the direction that Dep. Myers had escaped to moments earlier. Adam calmly walked up the steps and across the small porch to the cabin's front door. He paused to cast a satisfied glance over his shoulder at the gathering and then took in a deep breath before trying the door. Finding it locked, slight confusion passed over his face but only briefly. He stepped back and his eyes roamed around as he assessed the situation. Stepping forward and leaning slightly toward the door, he listened closely for any sound. A look of unsettled realization gave way to anger and he straightened up.

"Get me inside! Now!" he yelled to those nearest him.

The wave of people advanced in unison at his command but before they made it up the stairs, the front door burst open and Henry stepped out onto the porch, startling the older Immortal and halting the others in their tracks. He took up a stance alongside but a few feet away from Adam. Raising his arms, he loudly addressed them.

"Stop! This man you give obedience to is not what you think he is! He claims to be the only one - the only one who has cheated death for centuries. But he isn't!" Henry could see that he had their attention.

"What are you doing?" Adam growled at Henry. "They are loyal only to me. They do MY bidding!"

"Because you have lied to them." Henry turned and repeated it louder to the gathering. "What would you do if you knew there were others? Others who cheat death as he does but will not and never would oppress you with fear and threats of violence?"

"He's the only one we've ever known about," one of the younger male villagers said. "We've seen what happens to him ... and what he's done to those who don't follow him. It's not worth it to defy him." A murmur of confirmation rose up from the others.

"I can prove that he is wrong, that he's lied to you all this time!" Henry loudly replied. "He's not the only one. You don't have to be afraid of him any longer."

"Henry - " Adam growled out of the side of his mouth. "This man lies!"

"Then order them to kill me," Henry challenged, jerking his head to look at the twisted Immortal. When met with silence, he faced the gathering again. "He's afraid to. Because then he'll be proven a liar in front of all of you."

"Get him out of the way and get me inside!" Adam demanded of them. Some of them immediately began to step forward but others blocked their way.

"You said you could prove that there are others!" an older female villager called out hopefully to Henry. "Others who won't oppress us, demand our total and complete loyalty."

Inside the cabin, Henry's companions held a collective breath. A glimmer of hope shone through based on the apparent growing hesitancy among Adam's minions. It meant that Henry was getting through to them. The painful fact was also that Henry would be forced to die in front of them in order to prove he was telling the truth. Never mind that he would come back unharmed. Although he had told them that he'd died many times over the past 200 plus years, neither of his companions were willing to witness it. But, according to him before he'd stepped out onto the porch, it was the only sure way to convince his minions.

At the same time, the more Mike fingered the dagger, the more he felt a growing sense of purpose like he'd never felt before. It felt greater than his commitment to being a peace officer. It felt as though it came from the ages; that it was being born anew in him. All doubt, all fear was being washed away and replaced with a single thought: kill Oded (Adam).

Outside, Henry felt strongly that it was a now or never moment. Adam's minions had to witness his death in order for them to truly believe him. Adam was careful not to order anyone to kill him so ... he had to take matters into his own hands. Aware that his words had managed to disrupt the unity of the group in front of him, he also knew that there were still many who remained steadfastly loyal to Adam. He knew what he had to do. Focusing on the words of the two villagers who had spoken up, he said, "Let me prove to you that all I've said is true."

With that, he lunged at Adam as if to strangle him. One of the still loyal minions, a Westchester County Sheriff Deputy, drew his gun and fired at Henry even though a panicked Adam had yelled out for him not to fire. The bullet struck the younger Immortal in the right temple, splattering blood and matter onto Adam, the front door of the cabin, and on those standing closest to them. A horrified Adam, along with everyone else, watched as the impact of the bullet slammed him against the door. He then slid down into a lifeless heap at the bottom of it, his blood pooling around him. In the next instance, his body, along with the blood and matter, vanished in a brilliant flash of white light.

Those outside and inside were rendered speechless even though they'd all seen this amazing death and body vanishing occurrence before. Adam, angered beyond reason, assessed the growing unrest and looks of disbelief and discord on the faces of many. Did he also see betrayal? Anger? He most definitely saw and felt the a boldness in the eyes of some of them. Many of them. That weakling, Henry Morgan, had found yet another way to put a stumbling block in his way and this time without even laying a finger on him!

The deputy who'd just shot and killed Henry remained motionless in his shooting stance, arms outstretched and his eyes round as saucers. Adam made eye contact with the State Police captain and he stepped over to the deputy, lowering his arms and his weapon for him. He then whispered for him to run to the lake.

"He died," the deputy said in breathless wonder. "Died and ... disappeared. Just like ... "

"Yeah. Just like him," the captain said, eyeing Adam. He maintained eye contact with Adam and leaned over to the deputy, telling him again to run to the lake. "Take Deevers with you," he added, pushing a state trooper towards him. The deputy and the trooper ran off to the right of the crowd, presumably knowing where to possibly retrieve Henry.

After a few tense moments, the two peace officers returned with a dripping wet Henry inbetween them. The deputy who'd shot him had given him his own jacket to wear around his waist. Although shaken and unsure of what to expect but hoping for the best, Henry was naked and cold but completely healed from the horrific head wound he'd suffered only moments earlier. The crowd gasped as they brought him to stand near the stern-faced captain.

"Looks like we have been lied to all this time," the captain loudly announced.

"He lies!" Adam shouted, pointing to Henry. "The likes of him can do nothing for you. I am the STRONG one! The one who can keep you safe from outsiders," Adam postulated in a feeble attempt to regain control of those pulling away from him and maintain control of those still loyal. "He lives in the mortal world as a mortal. He doesn't know how to deal with the evils of the world, to keep them away from all of you!"

"Suffered all this time," the captain muttered, seemingly ignoring Adam's rant. He turned to face Adam fully, anger clearly growing on his face.

A growing murmur of discord swelled into a chorus of "You lied!" and "Let's get 'im! Now's our chance!"

The captain held up his hand to quiet the crowd. "We kill him and he comes back, remember?" They reluctantly agreed. He directed the deputy and trooper to help Henry get some dry clothes on. They opened the trunk of the captain's car and pulled out a towel and other items to get him situated. While Henry dried off and changed in the back of the car, the young male villager who'd been first to speak up, spoke up again.

"What do we do?" Now energized to act against his oppressor, he was eager to do something, anything to rid their village of him.

"Go ahead and try," Adam smugly dared them, holding up both of his arms in surrender. "But you all know what will happen later. I will come back and wreak havoc upon all of you and for generations to come if you do." His threat worked to quell the growing unrest long enough for him to try to open the front door again. Unsuccessful, he whirled around at the sound of shouted commands behind him.

"This is the NYPD! Everyone freeze! Drop your weapons! Repeat: DROP. YOUR. WEAPONS!" The ESU team along with Lt. Reece had finally arrived. In all the excitement, no one had noticed them lower themselves by rope from the helicopters.

_"Remember how to do this?" Donaldson asked Reece as they neared their destination and prepared to disembark. _

_"This baby is amphibious, isn't it?" she'd asked as calmly as she could. She hadn't counted on exiting the chopper this way. _

_"Not tonight," Donaldson told her, motioning toward the open side door. _

_Reece grudgingly moved into place, warily eyeing the others as they exited one by one. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" _

_"Doing what?" he asked, biting back his laughter. _

_"See, this why you don't have nobody!" she gritted at him as she exited the chopper and propelled down the rope. _

The ESU team surrounded the large group outside the cabin, disarming them. Reece recognized Henry emerging from the back of the captain's police car wearing running shoes and sweats with a NY State Police Department logo on the shirt and hoodie. She and Donaldson approached him.

"Dr. Morgan," she began, "did you ... ?"

"Couldn't be helped, Lieutenant," he told her. "As painful as it was, I believe it helped to turn the tide against Adam."

"Who's inside?" Donaldson asked Henry. He told him and Donaldson relayed the information to his team. Henry told him about the back road and he relayed that information, as well. "Better notify your people that we're coming in the back, too."

Reece contacted Jo after getting no response from Mike's cell phone. "Everyone okay in there?" she asked Jo. "Mike didn't pick up." Jo reassured her that they all were.

"Mike's ... um ... a bit occupied right now," Jo told her. Noting the uncertainty in her voice, Reece asked again if he was okay. "He's perfectly fine," Jo replied with a firmer voice. "He's on his way out now."

The front door of the cabin opened and a strangely-clad figure stepped out onto the porch. Adam turned around to dart inside, thinking it had been opened by Brenda Myers. He froze in his tracks at the sight of an ancient Roman soldier in full gear and holding a pugio.

"No. No." Adam backed away from the soldier, still familiar to him. The same one who'd stabbed him in the stomach and killed him more than 2,000 years ago. "No, it's not true. You're not here! It can't BE!"

Only minutes earlier, Jo and Lucas had fought with their emotions to recover from seeing Henry be shot to death again, vanish, and miraculously reappear healthy and whole after having rebirth in the nearby lake. Almost as soon as Henry's body had vanished, Mike had begun to go through a transformation of his own. They watched in silent awe as the man they knew gradually faded away only to have the form of a fully uniformed ancient Roman soldier appear in his place. They weren't sure if Mike had faded away or if this soldier was simply an outward manifestation of his "sleeping warrior". Silent and stony-faced, he appeared to be unaware of them as he held the pugio. Swinging his muscular legs toward the door, he opened it and stepped out onto the porch, startling Adam. Only then did he utter one word. A name. A name that had been abandoned by its owner after 500 years of immortality.

Henry, Reece, and Donaldson watched in awe as the events unfolded before their very eyes. Especially the astounding presence of what only Reece and he knew to be Mike after the "warrior" in him had been awakened. He was pretty sure that only he knew what the Roman soldier was wearing.

A helmet called a Galea. His legs were protected by Greaves. Further protection was provided by a Lorica that included a hamata (mail armour) and manica (arm guards). A red, wool tunic; a baldric or belt worn over one of his shoulders that carried a sword. On his feet were Caligae, heavy-soled military sandals. A scarf called a focale protected his neck from chafing caused by constant contact with his armor.

"Oded," the soldier said.

The mere utterance of his long-forgotten name caused Adam's heart to nearly pound out of his chest. As much as he tried, he was unable to look away from the soldier's eyes. Those green eyes boring deep into his soul. As much as he tried, he couldn't make his feet move away from the slowly approaching but determined soldier holding the pugio. His pugio. The one he should have kept safely away from everyone. Especially from this bearer of certain death. He wanted to scream, at least. When a person met their end they were entitled to wail despairingly, weren't they? But he could neither move nor speak. It was becoming harder and harder to even breathe. If the pugio didn't kill him, he was certain he'd die of self-inflicted asphyxiation.

The soldier gripped Adam's right shoulder and closed in on him. Thrusting the dagger into his stomach into the same exact spot as before, he spoke again. "Paideúō (I am teaching)." He yanked the dagger out of him and the blade was covered with Adam's blood from hilt to tip.

Adam clutched at his newly-reopened old wound trying desperately to staunch the bleeding. He gripped the porch's railing as he stumbled away from the soldier, his legs finally responding but for perhaps the very last time. Still unable to utter a sound, he felt his life source quickly leaving him, taking him down into a previously unseen vortex with the darkest, most terrifying images he'd ever seen. This was different. Oh, so horrifyingly different from his previous deaths. His footing slipped as he desperately clung to the railing and to life but it was all to no avail. The dagger had finally found its mark. He knew he was finally going to die. And even after more than 2,000 years of living, he wasn't ready. There was so much more that he wanted to do. So much more that he wanted to ...

With eyes and mouth hung wide open, Adam or Oded, saw the last of the death images and he expelled his last breath, his body going limp. In the next instance, they all now expected to see his body vanish as Henry's had in a brilliant flash of white light. The light came but sputtered in and out of brilliance like a car engine sputtering to life for a few seconds, then dying out. After one last burst of sparkly light that obscured his body and the soldier completely, it diminished in both size and brilliance as it finally shrank to nothing and flickered out for the last time.

Adam's lifeless, bloodied body now lay prone on the porch but the soldier was no longer there. Instead, Mike was seen returned to his normal state dropping to his knees, exhausted. The doctor in Henry rushed him to his friend's side with Reece hot on his heels. Naturally, he wanted to examine Adam to make sure he was dead but Mike came first. Jo and Lucas hurried out of the cabin to Mike's side, as well. They carefully avoided even looking at Adam's body. They helped him to his feet and back inside the cabin where they sat him on a sofa fashioned from a large tree limb.

Lindsay hugged herself as she stood in the doorway scanning the stunned throng for her father. Not finding him, her eyes dropped to Adam's lifeless body and she screamed. Jo ran to her side and seeing the horrid sight of his rapidly aging body crumbling to dust, she pulled Lindsay back inside and closed the door. After squeezing her eyes shut against the image trying to replay itself in her mind, she helped Lindsay over to a seat at the small kitchen table and managed to get both of them a glass of water. Henry rose from where he'd been kneeling in front of Mike and eyed Jo questioningly.

"What's wrong?" he asked Jo. "Why did she scream?"

"She ... saw Adam ... " Jo found it hard to finish. When Henry turned and walked quickly to open the door to see for himself, Jo rushed over to stop him.

"Don't look, Henry."

"Jo, I just need to see - "

"No. You don't," she said more firmly, looking him directly in the eyes. "You don't need to see any of that." She then rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes again. Unmindful of what anyone else saw or thought about them and their relationship, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and hugged him close to her. He, in turn, wrapped one of his long arms around her shoulders, pulling her in even closer, and stroked the back of her head with his free hand.

Notes:

Information on ancient Roman soldier uniforms found at wiki/Ancient_Roman_military_clothing

Ancient Greek words found at wiki/Ancient_Greek_grammar#Indicative_mood

Slight reference to "The Greatest American Hero" TV show that aired on ABC from March 1981 to February 1983. The main character, Ralph Hinkley, was gifted a suit from aliens that gave him super powers but he kept losing the manual so he never really knew how to use the suit to its fullest capacity.


	11. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 11 After Adam

_The road ahead blurred from the tears Dep. Gavin Myers was desperately blinking back at the thought of his wife, Brenda, willingly doing the bidding of the twisted Immortal, Adam; and from the increasing lightheadedness from blood loss. He closed his eyes one last time, probably not even seeing the large tree as the car veered off the road and smashed into it. _

vvvv

Unfamiliar, muffled voices and cloudy images gradually became clearer as Gavin regained consciousness. It was the searing pain in his left shoulder and the heaviness on the right side of his rib cage preventing him from taking in a deep breath that worried him most, though. Most likely, his lung had collapsed after having been pierced by a broken rib, he thought to himself, having suffered one in a rock climbing accident two years ago. Something warm and wet ran down from his short thatch of brown hair onto the left side of his face and onto his lips. A person's face, partially hidden behind night vision goggles and a helmet, was peering in at him. He felt pressure - fingers - on the side of his neck. The person radioed information to someone else that he was alive.

He was alive.

Slight panic set in when he recalled that he had not been alone in the car. Halsey! What of him? Gavin managed to turn his head to his right a bit but saw only an empty but blood-stained and glass covered seat. The passenger side door was hanging open.

He slowly turned his throbbing head back to the person peering in at him and tried to ask where the man was but only a gurgling sound emitted from him prompting more warm wetness to spill from his mouth and down onto his chin. Internal bleeding, he concluded. Not good. Not good.

The driver's side door opened and the person in swat gear was joined by another garbed the same way. They were working to extricate him from behind the wheel. Something for which he was grateful, but it increased his pain level exponentially, rendering him unable to be of much help to them. He sank into unconsciousness again.

Gavin opened his eyes to now see the stars above him and more people in swat gear. He knew that his head was tightly secured by tape to a board, preventing him from moving it one way or the other as he lay on a gurney. Didn't medical personnel immobilize a person's head a better way now? he asked himself as the dark, sinking feeling overtook him again.

Drifting back into consciousness, he saw the fluorescent lighting above him move rapidly in a downward direction and out of his line of sight while medical personnel hovered over him as they hurried him down a hospital corridor toward an operating room. One of them presented an upside down face to him over his head and urged him to "hang on". Consciousness left him again even as unanswered questions about his misguided Brenda, the evil Peter/Adam, and Halsey's condition niggled at the back of his mind.

vvvv

A black SUV pulled up in front of the home of Karen Hanson's parents. Mike thanked Sgt. Donaldson behind the wheel and his boss, Lt. Reece, in the front passenger seat.

"Sure you don't want to go to your own home?" Reece asked him. "There's plenty of room for all of you."

"Nah, thanks," he replied and exited the vehicle, closing the door. "I don't want to disturb them all again so soon." He bid them goodbye and walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Karen virtually snatched the door open surprising him but when their eyes met, the floodgates opened for both of them. She flung herself into his arms and sobbed on his shoulder while they clung to each other as if for dear life. After a few moments, she stepped back so he could enter. Twin excited shouts of "Dad!" sounded from within and Mike's booming "Heyyyy!" as the door closed.

Donaldson drove away from the curb and headed for Reece's apartment 15 blocks away on the same street. They rode in silence, each mulling over their own thoughts of the events of not only earlier that evening but over the past several days. Both of them had seen plenty of "action" as beat cops and later in their separate but related capacities as respected leaders of their own units. The fact that Reece had already been a detective for three years when Donaldson had graduated from the police academy, was just another milestone in their respective careers that also brought great discomfort to her. If only she could squeeze five years off of her age and he could pad five years onto his. But they couldn't. Not even an Immortal, it seemed, could age in reverse. And since Henry had told them that he remained clueless as to how or why his aging had been arrested, he would be of no help to her in this situation.

Situation, she laughed to herself. A May-December relationship had never even been on her radar until her path had crossed one day with a very brave, handsome, and persistent young ESU Team Leader two years ago while working to contain a shooter at the bustling Manhattan Mall only three blocks from the Empire State Building.

Recently, she had confided in her sisters (one older, two younger), who had surprised her by saying they didn't see the age difference as a problem.

_"That would make me a cougar if I had anything to do with him and I don't want to be a cougar!" Reece had told them in no uncertain terms. _

_"Honey, age ain't nuthin' budda numba," her older sister, Doretha, had told her, waving a dismissive hand. _

_"You bedda jump on that before some other chick comes along and then you'll be cryin' like when you turned down that Stanley guy's marriage proposal and he married that woman who runs those laundromats," Katherine, her younger sister by 11 months had warned her. _

_"Yeah," Debbie, younger than her by three years, began. "Remember when the laundry room in your building was closed down and how you used to drive across town just so you didn't have to go into one of __**their**__ laundromats?" _

The SUV came to a stop, intruding upon her thoughts. She looked around and saw the entrance of her apartment building. But four wheels on the ground was a better ride (for her, at least) over that whirlybird with those damn descension cords!

"Your stop," Donaldson said. He looked over at her admiringly and added, "You did good out there, Rookie."

"You mean I just reminded myself why I chose not to go that way. I'll take the streets and a badge and a gun any day over what you guys do," she added. She then smiled a thanks to him and unbuckled her seatbelt, pausing before releasing it. "You drink coffee?" she asked, tilting her head away from him while side-eyeing him.

Surprised, he looked at her again and replied in the affirmative. Then he laughed, throwing his head back. She asked him what was so funny and he said, "When I was little, my grandfather used to tell me 'coffee make you black'." He laughed again and added, "And I believed him." She joined him in his laughter saying that she'd had an Uncle Bert who'd told her the same thing.

Their laughter calmed and he asked her if that was some kind of an invitation for something.

Her head tilted away from him again from shyness, she realized. Something she hadn't experienced since her teen years. It caused her to hesitatingly reply, "Yes, an invitation to meet for coffee but ... we'll see if ... something else ... comes out of it."

Donaldson closed his eyes and tilted his head upward, jokingly declaring to the universe, "The Queen has spoken!" He took in a breath and stated more calmly, "How 'bout we get a good night's sleep and meet for that coffee tomorrow morning, say 6-ish?"

She frowned and pointed out, "That's less than four hours from now!" They exchanged a raised-eyebrow look until she relented and broke the gaze. "Alright. Six-ish," she said and exited the vehicle.

He drove away only after she was safely in her building. When she finally got into her apartment, she took off her shoes and plopped down on the nearest chair or sofa or whatever it was, she didn't care. Forget bed for right now, she told herself. Sleep was the number one priority. Anywhere. Even sitting up! Well, have to set that alarm on her phone first. She smiled into dreamland with the last thought being that she couldn't believe she'd just done what she'd done. But her smile stubbornly remained.

vvvv

"Aaahhh," Abe breathed out with his arms outstretched as his father and Jo walked through the shop's door. "Welcome home, you two." Seeing the slight blush on Jo's cheeks, he quickly added an addendum to his greeting. "I mean, I know this is not your home but welcome back, anyway. Our home is your home." Noting that his father was now wearing a familiar-looking sweatsuit, he slowly took in a deep breath, pressing his lips together. Henry met his gaze and shook his head slightly in a wordless request for him not to state the obvious. Especially in front of Jo. He then embraced his son and whispered something in his ear. Abe nodded and said good night to Jo, then disappeared up the stairs.

"What did you say to him?" she asked, giving him a squinty-eyed smile.

"Oh, just that it's been a long day, a long drive back from Tarrytown, and that we'd fill him in on everything in the morning," he replied, a playful smile tugging at his lips. Sauntering closer to her, his large hands claimed her tiny waist and pulled her closer.

She snaked her arms up around his neck and said, "That's not all you told him."

"No," he began, "I also threatened to ground him for a month if he ever interrupts us again. Especially tonight."

"You can't really do that, can you?" she asked, laughing softly.

"Ummm, well, I can hide his remote," he replied with a lop-sided grin. "That will drive him crazy!" They both laughed, then he said, "But my son is basically a good boy with good intentions."

Boy? No matter that she now knew Abe was his son who'd aged normally to now be mistaken for his father, it was still strange to hear him refer to the elder-looking man as a boy. But it was also sweet. Their affection for each other had always been obvious. This just added another reason for her to be eager to learn more about him and love him more.

"How about me?" she asked, running her fingers up into the back of his curls, taking his breath away. "Wanna know my intentions?"

In the darkened shop, their lips met nervously in a tender, first kiss, electrifying them both in the most luscious way. He washed his lips over hers, increasing the pressure as the nervousness gave way to the deep feelings they had for each other. Feelings long buried and now rising to the top, demanding to be satisfied. The gentleman in him fought to keep his hands in check but quickly lost a short battle to the needy man in him. His hands explored every inch of her within reach and occasionally hid themselves in her luxurious locks, pressing her face closer to his to deepen the kiss. In this moment, they were aware only of each other. Neither had realized until then just how much they'd longed to share a moment like this. It was as if they could feel and hear each other's heart beats and as if their hearts beat as one.

They broke away from the kiss but not from each other. He cupped her face in his hands, covering it with little smacks of kisses on her cheeks, her eyelids, forehead, neck, then burying his face in her long locks. She, in turn, pressed her face into the crook of his neck, placing small kisses there. She drank in the taste of him under her lips and reveled in each gasping moan it elicited from him. Or were those from her? It didn't matter. Nothing else mattered. Then they just held each other, their eyes closed, and listened to each other's breathing.

They had survived. It had been an incredible experience these past few days. In that short timespan, Jo had seen the man she now knew that she loved, die in front of her eyes twice and return to her both times, healed and whole. It was utterly amazing and unlike anything she could ever have imagined in her whole life. They were now rid of Adam and were safe to resume their lives together in New York. But she knew that she would follow him to any part of the world, this amazing, immortal man. Right now, she just wanted to hold him and feel the warmth of his living, breathing body next to hers.

vvvv

The next morning at a Greenburgh hospital around 10:45 ...

Gavin opened his eyes and was greeted by the smell of antiseptic and the feel and smell of crisp, clean bedding. Turning his head to the right on the too-soft pillow, he saw that he was hooked up to an IV. The pain in his head, shoulder, and rib cage was still there but it was nothing like before and breathing was much easier. Feeling the presence of someone else, he looked to his left and saw a smiling young woman facing him and seated in a chair next to his bed.

"Good morning, Deputy," Lindsay greeted him.

His response was once again swallowed, this time by a dry throat. He cleared his throat and swallowed and tried again. "You must be Lindsay," he finally managed to rasp out but his voice was still stronger than he'd expected. Clearing his throat again, he asked, "How is ... Did your father ... ?" He wanted to know if the man had survived but if he hadn't, he didn't wish to upset her anymore than she already would be.

"It was a rough go for him," she began, her eyelids fluttering as she lowered her eyes. Then she met his gaze again and released a sigh of relief. "But the doctors say he should make a full recovery."

Gavin closed his eyes and sighed, smiling. "Ohhh, great." Opening his eyes again, he added, "I was worried about him. He looked so ... I'm glad. That's good," he said, turning his thoughts away from the bloody scene the night before and to the positive.

"Thanks to you," she said, smiling broader.

"Sorry about my wife," he apologized, looking away from her. "I just couldn't reach her anymore. She was so totally into that son-of-a ... " He paused, clearly frustrated at the memory of his wife's undying loyalty to the evil Immortal. "He had her convinced that she could also become like him. Just another one of his lies that she and a lot of others had taken as gospel. There's nobody else like him. Nobody else that can cheat death." He shook his head and swallowed back his frustration and anger.

Lindsay's smile grew wider into a toothy grin. "Well, see, there's where you're wrong."

Gavin listened gape-mouthed and increasingly encouraged as she excitedly recounted to him the startling events of the night before in and outside the cabin where his wife had briefly held her.

"Oh ... wow," he replied, laughing softly, then wincing when his injuries reminded him not to. "And this soldier-looking man killed Adam?"

"Killed him with some kind of dagger," she happily replied. "Then, I guess, all of the years that he should have aged, caught up with him. He aged so rapidly and just ... turned to dust in front of our eyes. Gone."

"Boy, I'd love to have seen that," he said, chuckling and gritting his teeth from the pain. "And the other guy dying and his body vanishing in the same way Adam always had." She smiled and shrugged. "Who are these guys?"

"I don't know that, either," she lied. Her features smoothed out into seriousness. "But they're good men. Neither of them would ever harm us or anyone." She searched his face before stating, "They helped us to get rid of ... Adam." She had to remember him as Adam now and not as Peter, the man she'd briefly thought she could spend her life with. Peter never existed. And now, Adam didn't exist anymore, either. She knew they were all well rid of him and she could begin to really live her life.

"Glad somebody took care of that SOB. Just wanna thank 'em," Gavin explained.

"Then we keep our mouths shut about all of this," she told him. "For as long as we live."

A frown of contention on his face gradually gave way to understanding. "Okay," he agreed, eyebrows raised over a smile. "For as long as we live." Speck in time for some folks, he silently noted.

vvvv

"Back to work so soon?" Abe asked his father.

Henry entered the kitchen smiling and dapperly dressed as usual. "Best to get back into the routine of things," he replied. He sat down at the table in his usual spot, unfolded his napkin and placed it on his lap. While he reached over and poured himself a glass of orange juice, then buttered his English muffin, Abe felt oddly comforted by it all. Dad and him eating breakfast before both of them started their work days. It did feel good to get back into their usual routine. It felt even better to be able to close this nightmarish chapter on Adam. Something or someone was missing, though.

"Say, where's Jo?" Abe asked. "She didn't stay last night?"

"She did, Abraham," Henry replied, not making eye contact with him. "And she's still here - in my bedroom." At Abe's arched eyebrow and smile of amusement, he clarified that she had slept in his bedroom last night while he had slept in the guest bedroom.

Genuinely disappointed and a bit frustrated to hear that, he asked did they at least "get it on" last night.

Henry lowered his head and released his eating utensils, his smile a thing of the past. "No, we did not 'get it on', as you say, Abraham." A stern look of fatherly disappointment was now leveled at Abe from under that notorious furrowed brow of his.

"We are in the inception period of our relationship and have quite a ways to go before we reach the - "

" - conception period?" Abe deadpanned and thoroughly enjoyed the look of horrified embarassment that washed away the sternness on his father's face.

Appalled, Henry brusquely turned his attention back to his meal, picking up his fork. "I'll have you know that I have much more respect than that for the woman I - " He stopped abruptly and his broad smile returned as he jumped up out of his seat.

What? Abe thought. The woman you what? Then he noticed Jo enter the kitchen, freshly showered and putting the sun and the moon to shame with her beauty. As if I didn't know, Abe chuckled to himself.

"Jo. Don't you look lovely," he told her.

She thanked him and kissed both of them on the cheek before taking a seat at the table. Henry spooned eggs, bacon, and hash browns onto a plate for her and placed it in front of her, retaking his seat next to her. He also gave a pointed stare to his son, who knew all too well that it meant for him to corral any untoward language in front of Jo.

"Sooo," Jo drew out as she began forking up some food. "Did you tell him yet?" she asked Henry.

"Oh, yeah," Abe said. "You promised me a bedtime story, Pops."

They all chuckled and Henry found his good humor again with his son. "Well ... it's a long story," prompting more laughter from them. Abe settled back to enjoy their tale from the night before of how Team Morgan and others had worked together to finally defeat the psychopathic Immortal, Adam.

"Turns out he was born with the name Oded," Henry told him as part of the story.

"You should have seen Mike when he transformed into an ancient Roman soldier," Jo said. "We're talking real gladiator!" she excitedly added. "Oh, and you would have been so proud of your Dad; the way he challenged Adam without any kind of weapon in front of all of his followers and sacrificed himself for all of us." She looked admiringly at an embarrassed Henry, who took in a deep breath and slid his eyes from her and over to Abe. He cleared his throat and coughed.

"Well, actually, we, ah, all worked together to do our parts, darling," he said. "You were so brave, so commanding throughout all of it." The two of them locked gazes temporarily forgetting that they weren't alone.

Abe eyed them with a chuckle and shake of his head. He then cleared his throat and forked up more of his eggs. "Where was the Lieutenant and Lucas while all of this was going on?" he asked. He truly wanted to know even though he knew that he was interrupting them ... again.

Jo woke up and broke her gaze away from Henry's. "Lucas was ready to brain anyone who came at us with that big piece of firewood he was holding," she laughingly related.

"Ouch!" Abe jokingly remarked.

"And Lieu," Jo began. "She came in with the ESU Team. You should have seen her in her SWAT uniform."

"Wow," Abe marveled. "You know, that is one special lady! If I weren't already spoken for by Fawn, I'd like a go at her." His admission surprised Henry and Jo.

"Abe, you never mentioned anything about possibly being attracted to the good Lieutenant," his father said.

"The way you've talked about her over this past year," Abe explained, "made her sound like the kind of woman I'd be interested in." He chewed and swallowed the last of his eggs and hash browns. "That is, if she would be willing to overlook the race difference thing and the religious preference difference thing and the age difference thing ... " His voice trailed off as he frowned slightly and lifted up his cup of tea.

"Not to mention the fact that she's a woman with an action-filled job and you're basically a pencil pusher," his father teased.

"Oh, and both of you are not afraid of speaking your minds," Jo added, jumping in. "You'd probably clash a lot. Clash of the Titanic Tongues," she jokingly added.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Abe said, patting a hand at them to stop them. "It was just all if and maybe, anyway. Fawn and I are doing just fine. Maybe the Lieutenant can find a younger more exciting guy but he's only gonna be half as charming and not nearly as good-looking as I am."

"I think she may already have done just that," Jo said. She then shared her woman's intuition about the body language she'd witnessed taking place between her boss and the ESU team's boss, surprising even Henry, who had not picked up on it.

"Good for her," Henry said, smiling broadly. "Him, too. A great match in spite of the age difference."

"Imagine that," Jo smirked at him and he rolled his eyes playfully.

"Oh, what happened to Adam ... Oded?" Abe asked.

Henry gave a quick glance of concern to Jo then at Abe. "It's my understanding that he ... " He paused to glance at Jo again who sat silently with her eyes downcast. "He died and aged rather rapidly after being stabbed."

Abe frowned while considering something. "Stabbed with the weapon that had made him immortal?" he asked.

Henry hesitated before replying. "Supposedly, yes." Whether he was aware of it or not, he was holding Jo's hand under the table, squeezing it. On the ride back home, she had made him promise not to tell Abe everything about that horrid sight.

"And you both saw all of this," Abe said mostly to himself.

"Uh ... well ... no, I didn't, actually," Henry replied haltingly. He frowned slightly and flicked his head almost unnoticeably at Jo, clearly upset at the memory.

Picking up on his father's silent request, he felt it was best to drop it. "Well," he said, feigning satisfaction. "Good riddance to bad rubbish. And you two, all of us, are free to live our lives without that ungodly sh-"

"Abraham," Henry warned.

"I was gonna say shmendrik." He looked at Jo and explained that it was a Yiddish term for a jerk or a stupid person. "Of course, we know that he was a million times more than that," he added.

Henry and Jo did not dispute it. While Abe pushed his empty plate aside and began to read the obituaries, the newly declared lovers exchanged a look to seal their pact of never letting Abe know about Adam having been reduced to a pile of dust. The sight had so upset Jo that she had elected to exit the cabin through the back road instead of trying to step over his powdery remains and her colleagues had followed suit.

The ESU Team members who'd entered from the rear of the cabin had retrieved fake deputy Brenda Myers from the closet in the upstairs bedroom and taken custody of her. Once the appropriate number of wayward law enforcement personnel had also been detained and the crowd had been cleared away from the front of the cabin, the ESU Team had scooped up Adam's clothing and powdery remains.

_"What'll we do with these, Sarge?" one of the team members had asked Donaldson. _

_"Package them like anyone else's remains, I suppose," he had replied. _

_"But ... where do we send them? NY OCME? These aren't the usual kind of remains we've always dealt with," he'd pointed out to his boss. _

_"You're right," Donaldson had replied. "But technically, he was a resident of New York City, so, the OCME." He'd been aware that the Lieutenant and her team would rather deal with those weird remains themselves. She had wordlessly thanked him before they'd headed back to the city via helicopter then SUV. _

vvvv

That afternoon in the OCME ...

At the sound of another messenger entering the morgue, Lucas cast his eyes up at her, hopeful that the package would be Adam's expected remains. He may have been born Oded but he was Adam to him, no matter what anybody else said. The name sounded more ominous, more foreboding being biblical and all that. First man that God created. Maybe he'd been the first Immortal that God had created. Had to be God. Wasn't Satan for even he had been created by God. Had simply turned bad. Adam had snatched a page out of his book for the way he'd chosen to live his long life.

Lucas sighed, disappointed. Another person from a food delivery service. Burritos, pizza, yeah, tasty looking. But he really wanted to sink his pathological teeth into Adam's remains. Get them under a microscope to see what made him tick. Was there an immortal immortality gene wriggling around in there? Even dormant, it might be able to be identified. Isolated and ... duplicated? He shook his head vigorously at the thought. He was jabbering on like a mad scientist.

"We have a delivery, Lucas?" Henry asked, popping out of his office for the third time in an hour and deflating as Lucas had at the sight of the food packages.

"Sorry, Big Guy," Lucas told him. "The eagle has not yet landed."

Henry side-eyed him with a frown. "One of these days you're going to communicate in clear, non-millenial code with me," he prophesied. "I'm sure of it."

"Just sayin' that - "

"I understand, Lucas," Henry said, taking a couple steps closer to him. "It's going to take me a while to get up to speed on some of the terms you and most everyone else use," he confessed. "Until then, please be patient with me."

"Sure thing, Big G - Yes. Sirrrr."

"Well, we don't have to be ridiculous with it," Henry murmured to himself. "I'll ... be in my office. Please let me know when the, ah, package we're expecting, arrives."

Just as he finished saying that and before Lucas could respond, Henry's desk phone rang. "This could be it," he told Lucas and hurriedly went to answer it. Lucas remained near his work station but stood up and moved a little closer to the open doorway to hear at least Henry's part of the conversation. There wasn't much to hear and Henry soon reappeared at the doorway. "That was Lt. Reece," he said, staring at his feet, then up and around the chilly room. "She wants us to meet her and Jo and Mike in the HazMat Lab." He finally looked at Lucas. "Adam's remains have arrived."

Notes:

Got a little help on describing a first kiss from site that explores

How-will-my-first-kiss-feel-like-Things-to-expect-=from-your-first-kissing-experience

Shmendrik and its meaning obtained from "The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know"


	12. The Hourglass Breaks Ch 12 - END

_Henry stood at the open doorway of his office and his desk phone rang. "This could be it," he told Lucas and hurriedly went to answer it. He soon reappeared at the doorway and said, "That was Lt. Reece. She wants us to meet her, Jo, and Mike in the HazMat Lab. Adam's remains have arrived." _

vvvv

Henry and Lucas exited the elevator and walked briskly toward their three colleagues, Reece, Jo, and Mike, waiting just outside the lab's door at the end of the long hallway leading to the HazMat Lab. The ME and his assistant noted that they were not wearing hazmat suits. The two groups converged and exchanged subdued greetings for more of the unknown was waiting for them beyond the lab's door. He purposely kept his eyes focused on the Lieutenant although he could feel Jo's eyes sadly wishing that someone else could perform this "autopsy". Even as Reece spoke to him, he recalled Jo's words from earlier in the day.

_"Can't Lucas do this by himself since ... " _

_"Since no one else would understand the significance of these remains?" he'd asked, finishing her thought. _

_"His powers of observation have improved considerably under your watch," she contended. What she hadn't mentioned was how Lucas had been able to obtain Abigail's true COD of suicide after his grief had allowed him to mistakenly assume it was accidental. _

_"I know what you're thinking, Jo, but I can assure you," he told her, "I am not grief stricken over this man. My observational skills are at their usual highest levels. I do not intend to miss a thing during our examination." _

And, as an Immortal, he most definitely intended to look for something else that no one else would. Anything that would point him to an answer for the origin of their strange conditions. He most definitely had a vested interest in this particular examination.

"Doctor, is there any reason to believe that this ... material might be hazardous in any way?" Reece was asking him.

"It's wise that the, ah, material was sent here," Henry replied, bringing his attention back to the present. "We have no way of knowing one way or the other. Personally, I'd like to think that it (an Immortal's remains) is not. But it's best to take every precaution when handling it."

"You and Mr. Wahl suit up and go into the room," Reece instructed him. "We'll observe through the window."

The room was actually a 15' x 15' x 20' enclosure with an 12' wide and 10' high rectangular viewing window of five-inch thick safety glass. Three tiered rows of 15 in theater seating were on the other side of the glass. Reece and her two detectives sat in the second row and watched anxiously as Henry and Lucas in full hazmat gear carefully removed the dark blue ceramic urn with Adam's powdered remains in it from the square, metal transporting container. The urn had a large, yellow label taped on the side of it with the wording "Unknown/Hazardous Substance" across the top of the label. Though doubting it was hazardous at all, Henry carefully unscrewed the lid of the urn and handed it to Lucas. He transferred a teaspoon of its contents into a petri dish. While he placed the lid on the dish, Lucas screwed the urn's lid back on.

The three observers watched intently as the ME duo put the odd remains through a battery of tests to detect any microscopic organisms either alive or dead but none were found. There was also no presence of any radiation or poisonous substances. All the while, they and Lucas hung on every word of Henry's narration accompanying his movements and conclusions. As an aid to help them follow along, a closed circuit TV monitor showed real-time images of whatever was being viewed under the microscope.

"The remains have both the appearance and the feel of dust but are not in a cremated state," Henry said. "Other than only a minute trace of Illirean iron, only the normal amounts of iron and zinc that help carry out biological processes are present," he added.

"Dust but not ... in a cremated state?" Lucas asked.

"Correct," Henry replied. "The cremated body is light to dark gray in color and looks like coarse sand. The cremated remains can entirely attain the form of ashes after bone fragments and shards are either removed or reduced." He swept a hand over the petri dish and toward the urn. "These remains are much finer and lighter in color much like the fine, powdery sand found in the Middle East."

"That's odd," Lucas remarked.

"Odd, indeed," Henry whispered his reply. He handed the petri dish to Lucas, who placed it next to the metal container with the urn in it on the counter along the back wall. "Let's have a look at the clothing," he told Lucas.

Lucas broke the packaging tape on a lidded cardboard box next to the metal container and lifted the lid up. One by one, Lucas lifted plastic evidence bags out that contained the individual garments, including the leather belt and shoes that Adam had worn. He handed each bag to Henry, who removed each piece and laid them out onto the table as if laying out his wardrobe for the next day. The black slacks made a soft clunking sound when laid on the table and there was a slight heaviness in the right pocket. Henry reached a gloved hand inside and pulled out a blue velvet ring box. Holding the box in his palm, he paused, pursing his lips and furrowing his brows as he looked at Lucas then out at his three colleagues. Opening the box revealed a set of his and hers gold wedding rings.

Lucas swallowed and blinked before saying, "He really meant to marry that girl."

"It would seem so," Henry sighed. Taking in a deep breath and rushing it out, he added, "Fortunately, for her, he never got the chance." He closed the box and handed it to Lucas, who placed it in its own plastic evidence bag.

"Looks expensive," Lucas remarked. "He must have had deep pockets."

"Hmmm, possible," Henry said. "But don't forget that he knew how to coerce people into unwillingly providing him with whatever services or goods he required." Even he had basically broken the law when he'd unwillingly handed over the pugio to Adam after he'd demanded it.

It did not appear that a run-over with a black light was necessary since the clothing clearly showed evidence of massive blood loss stemming from the abdominal stab wound. The tear in the shirt marked the spot where the dagger's blade had been plunged into his abdomen. The blood loss trail worked down from the tear and onto both the pant legs and the shoes.

"Doesn't look like he wore any underwear or socks," Lucas dryly noted. "One way to save money, I suppose," he mused.

Henry cleared his throat and reached for the Luminol reagent, which Lucas promptly handed him. He sprayed the clothing and shoes and then leaned back to allow Lucas to cast the black light over all of the items. Other areas of blood staining not visible to the eye were illuminated but that was to be expected. The normal things found on anyone's clothing like dirt, lint, dandruff, or various stains from contact with various substances on a day-to-day basis were also found and noted.

"This concludes our examination," Henry declared, facing his colleagues through the viewing window. "Please package everything back up, Lucas."

While Henry oversaw Lucas' activities, their three colleagues stood up and filed out of the room.

vvvv

Later on that same evening in the kitchen above Abe's Antiques ...

"Must have been some slice and dice this afternoon," Abe chortled. "You actually got to examine the remains of a dead Immortal! That's definitely a first for you, isn't it?"

"Yes, it was, Abraham," Henry admitted with a slight chuckle.

"And he's really kaput?" Abe asked.

Henry chuckled again, lowering his head then raising it again. "He's really gone. Kaput, as you say." He and Abe clinked their wine glasses against each other's and took a victory sip. Henry set his wine glass down on the table and sighed, his head tilted to the side, his lips slightly pursed.

Lips slightly pursed, Abe observed. So not really worried just mulling things over. "What's got you thinking so hard?" he asked his father.

Henry breathed in and out deeply and sat forward before replying, "I was just wondering if there are any others out there somewhere. Where and who are they."

"Don't forget those sleeping warriors," Abe reminded him. "Wonder if there's one assigned to each - " He silenced himself, lowering his eyes and his glass, not taking that sip after all.

"It's alright, son," Henry said in an attempt to comfort him. "That same thing has been on my mind, as well." He took another sip of wine and held his glass up, studying it as he turned it from side to side. "People meet their end every day. At least now I know that one day it may be possible for me to no longer be just an interested observer."

"Yeah, well, not any time soon, I hope," Abe said. "Kind of gotten used to the idea that you'll still be here after I'm gone."

Henry abruptly set his glass down. The wine inside, had there been more of it, would have splashed out at the impact. "Let's not have any more of this gloomy talk, shall we? We're celebrating the end of Adam and his terrorizing of us and who knows how many others." They clinked their glasses together again and drained them. While Abe was pouring them each another glass, knocking was heard coming from the shop's front door.

"That must be Jo," Henry said and quickly rose from his chair. He was unable to hide what he knew was a deep blush rising in his cheeks and a wide grin.

"Well, don't keep the lady waiting, Dad," Abe said teasingly with a wink.

Henry hurried down the stairs and past the retail items to let Jo in. His smile faltered somewhat when he saw her with a sheepish look on her face and their three colleagues standing behind her. The foursome all grinned and waved to him, well, except Jo. He unlocked the door and stepped aside to let them all file in.

"We're on the second level in the kitchen," he told them. "Lucas, you know the way." Lucas nodded and proudly instructed Reece and Mike to follow him up the stairs. He closed the door behind Jo and locked it again. He then turned a questioning look to her.

"They ... have questions," she told him, clearly embarrassed. She flopped her arms up then down.

"That's fine and, and understandable," he replied. "But tonight? I had planned to spend some alone time with you." He stepped closer to her and pulled her against him as he smiled down at her.

"What was I to tell them, Henry? They said they were invited here tonight, too."

He frowned, confused, darting his eyes here and there. "There must be some mistake. I certainly didn't ... " He stopped speaking as realization washed over him. "Abraham," he said with a deep sigh.

Jo smiled under raised eyebrows and toyed with the knot in his tie while fingering his curls at the nape of his neck with her other hand. Her touch and the closeness of her rendered him temporarily mindless and speechless. Almost drunk in the most delightful way.

"We probably have ... " she whispered and kissed him softly on the lips, "just a few minutes ... " She kissed him again softly, snaking her fingers up from his tie to play in the curls just behind his ear.

He closed his eyes, enjoying their close contact immensely and nuzzling his face against hers while gently running his hand up and down her back. "Before what?" he rasped.

"Before we get - "

"Hey, Pops!" Abe yelled from the top of the stairwell. "We got company! You and Jo come on up!"

Jo's smile slipped along with his as she dropped her arms to her sides and took a step back. "Interrupted again," she said, completing her once sexy come on.

Henry cast a mischievous glance toward the stairs and yelled back, "In a moment, Son!" He put a finger to his lips and looked her directly in the eyes. He then tiptoed to the back of the store and grabbed his coat and scarf from off of the coat rack. After donning them and quietly scurrying back to the front of the store, he carefully pinched the small clapper against the edge of the bell over the door. Jo smothered a laugh with her hand over her mouth when he silently motioned for her to unlock the door, which she did. He managed to position the bell in such a way that it rested on its side on top of the threshold. They left the shop and gently closed the door behind them. He locked it from the outside and they hurriedly got into her car and quickly drove away. Once they were a couple of blocks away, they both let out a deep sigh of relief and nervous laughter.

"Abe is going to wonder where we are," she said, revving the car onto the freeway entrance. "I feel so guilty leaving like this. They said they all have questions for you and that you agreed to answer them, remember?" Her guilt lessened with each glance at his handsome, smiling face.

"And Abraham will get over it. They all will. We'll have that Q & A session some other time," he told her, nestling into his seat. "Tonight," he said, gripping her hand, "I feel like living. Really living."

"Okay," she chuckled uncertainly but excitedly. "Where am I driving us?"

"Somewhere where we will not be interrupted," he replied with a sly smile.

vvvv

Henry and Jo want to be alone right now so I won't reveal the location or circumstance they eventually wind up in. Let's give 'em some space, okay? No interruptions. :)

Oh, Adam's remains along with his clothing were promptly cremated, turning them into the gray-colored ash like everyone else's cremains. They were scattered into the Hudson River by Team Morgan.

Lindsay's father was released from the hospital several weeks later, miraculously recovered from multiple gun shot wounds. He reopened his business but Lindsay chose to leave Tarrytown and its many strange and painful memories behind. She settled in Los Angeles and moved into an apartment complex in which she felt was safe since a police consultant lived there, also. His first name escaped her but he had the most interesting last name: Morningstar. He was tall and handsome and seemed like such a nice gentlemen. Yes, she felt that she would be safe there. (Ohhh, myyy.)

Dep. Gavin Myers chose to stand by his wife, Brenda, of three years since the doctors had told him that with time, patience, and love, she could be broken of her obsession. They had seen it before in former cult members. Despite the fact that when she'd knocked him out that day in the jailhouse, and she had stolen his wedding ring off of his finger so Adam could use it and hers to wed Lindsay, he still loved her and was willing to tough it out with her.

Oh, and Henry's and Jo's colleagues did forgive them for having run out on them that night for they realized that the couple had been long overdue for some alone time together. Besides, they were happily counting their individual dating pool winnings.

Abe, however, was still sulking a bit over how his father and his new girlfriend had managed to sneak away that night. So he decided to modernize the entry and exit notification from the shop by having an electronic eye installed above the door. See if his technologically unsavvy Dad could ever get around that!

vvvv

Later on that evening, Det. Mike Hanson returned home to his wife, Karen, and two sons, Mike, Jr., and Donnie.

"How'd things go over at Dr. Morgan's?" Karen asked as he pulled her down onto the living room sofa with him. "Get a lot of your questions answered by this amazing Immortal colleague of yours?"

"Turned out okay," he replied. "Doc and Jo bailed on us but his son - " He paused to laugh heartily. " - his son, Abe - ahhh, that still gets me - he was able to answer a lot of our questions. He said some could only be answered by his Dad." Mike guffawed again. "His Dad." He shook his head and laughed some more at just one of the amazing facts regarding the two Morgan men. He looked up at Karen and said, "And all this time I would have bet they were lovers or secretly married."

"Just goes to show you," Karen began, "that you never can tell about people and what really goes on under their roof."

"Well, I know what's gonna be goin' on under _this_ roof in a little while," he playfully warned her, hugging her close and sharing a lingering kiss with her. Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked straight on at it. It was a letter-size piece of paper with doodles and scribblings on it. "What's this?" he asked, frowning.

"Donnie was sitting there just before I sent them up to bed," she replied. Seeing the concern on his face, she looked at the paper for the first time and her jaw dropped.

Their young son had drawn a near-perfect image of Mike after he'd either been transformed into or taken over by the ancient Roman soldier complete with the armor and weapons. What unnerved Mike and Karen the most was the detailed depiction of the pugio the soldier held in his right hand.

"Mike, how did he know how to draw this in such detail?" she asked. "We never discussed any of this with them. We decided that we should never have to after last night."

His gaze left the image on the paper and rose upward to the floor above them where their two young sons lay sleeping in their beds. "I know, honey. I know." He crumpled the paper and tossed it into the dying flames in the fireplace. He turned the lights out in the living room and he and Karen climbed the stairs to their bedroom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Don't worry; the Hanson boys will be just fine in the future. Always and forever.

Thank you all for taking this ride with me. It's been a rocky road at times writing it but a lot of fun.

Notes:

Information on the color of human remains found at

/what-is-the-color-of-human-ashes-4059360

Slight reference to "Lucifer" TV show that premiered on Fox on January 25, 2016. On May 11, 2018, Fox cancelled Lucifer after three seasons. A month later, Netflix picked up the series for a fourth season of ten episodes, which was released on May 8, 2019. On June 6, 2019, Netflix renewed the series for the fifth and final season of 16 episodes (which we fans of "Forever" would love to have something like this happen). wiki/Lucifer_(TV_series)#Episodes


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